And the award for the biggest sweet tooth goes to … Gen Z!
Nearly three-quarters of the 14-29-year-olds need between one and six servings of cookies, ice cream, chocolate, candy and other sweets each day, according to a new survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by the market researcher Talker Research and commissioned by the Japanese candy company HI-CHEW.
By comparison, just 57 percent of Baby Boomers – who are between 62 and 80 years old – said the same. The survey included 500 Gen Z respondents, 500 Gen X respondents, 500 Millennials and 500 Baby Boomers.
The findings clash with a similar Talker Research survey conducted last November that showed the generation that craved sweets the least was Gen Z. That survey, which was commissioned by the American berry company Driscoll’s, also found that 46 percent of both Millennials and Gen Xers crave sweet things.
The new survey found that Gen Zers are also the generation that most consider themselves “sweet treat people,” although Millennials were a close second. 86 percent of Gen Zers are suckers for sweets, and 81 percent of Millennials said the same.
And while the November survey showed 46 percent of Americans crave sweets by noon, the newer poll saw differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers. 35 percent of Millennials wanted a sweet treat before noon and 22 percent of Baby Boomers said their cravings were after 7 p.m.
Both surveys are indicative of America’s shift toward sugar over the years, and may paint a worrying picture for doctors working to fight obesity and other diseases worsened by being overweight.
Too much added sugar in your diet – sugar added to foods to make them sweeter and help the products stay good longer – can lead to weight gain, raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation.
These are all factors that result in an increased risk of heart disease, according to Harvard Health. Heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S., resulting in 900,000 deaths each year.
With the American diet turning increasingly processed over the last decade, the amount of sugar that Americans have consumed has dramatically risen, researchers said in 2016. Ultraprocessed foods make up nearly 90 percent of added sugars in the American diet, a 2020 study also found.
Now, most Americans still eat and drink too much sugar, according to the American Heart Association. In fact, adults and young adults get an average of 17 teaspoons daily – or more than three times the recommended daily amount for men and women, respectively.
Nearly a quarter of that comes from sugar-sweetened beverages, and 19 percent is from desserts and other sweet snacks.
“This adds up to around 60 pounds of added sugar consumed annually – that’s six, 10-pound bowling balls,” the AHA says.
The AHA recommends that men and women consume no more than nine teaspoons and six teaspoons, respectively, of added sugar each day.
As the global temperature rises, Americans are consuming even more sugar, because high temperatures fuel a craving for cold sugary drinks and frozen desserts, a 2025 study found.
To cut added sugar, experts recommend limiting the amount of sugary drinks to no more than one a week, Yale Health says.
Also watch out for alternative names for sugar on labels, the non-profit health care system Allina Health warns, such as corn syrup and words that end in “-ose,” which are often added sugars.
