New research suggests that not only is sugar generally bad for our health, added dietary sugar increases the risk of death due to heart disease, reports Forbes.

The study sought to examine time trends of added sugar consumption as percentage of daily calories in the United States and investigate the association of this consumption with CVD mortality.

Individuals who consume too much sugar run a higher risk of becoming obese as well as suffering from high blood pressure, dementia, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, cirrhosis of the liver and other forms of cardiovascular disease.

The study looked at the sugar intake and health of 31,000 people over 15 years. The participants were those who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, comparing a multitude of different lifestyle and physical variables to health outcomes.

The paper concludes that people, specifically Americans, consume more sugar that the daily dietary requirements; about 10% of adults consumed more than 25% of their calories from sugar. This practice [high sugar consumption] has been observed to increase one's risk for CVD mortality.

The core conclusion of the study confirms that added sugar appears to bring about risks beyond weight gain. It is up to the public and individuals to moderate their intake because the FDA has sugar on its "generally recognized as safe" list meaning there is no maximum about that producers need to take note of.

The WHO recommends that added sugar is pegged at 10% or below of one's daily caloric intake with the Institute of Medicine pegging it at 25%.

According to the experts, modest weight reduction, dieting, and a 30-minute exercise routine five days a week can reduce the development of cardiovascular disease. Aside from this, other important lifestyle measures include weight control and smoking cessation have an impact on preventing heart disease. Studies show that even in overweight people, regular physical activity has major cardiovascular benefits.