Sugar comes in many forms, is ubiquitous in modern-day foods and beverages, and has over 150 different names, making it difficult to spot. To raise awareness about the hidden sugars in the many foods we eat, we’ve teamed up with AREA 23 to launch Lil Sugar Master of Disguise.
Lil Sugar is a fun, educational, engaging, multi-platform nutrition literacy campaign to increase our awareness and ability to spot sugars as an added ingredient to many food items we don’t generally associate with high sugar content. Voiced by the legendary Darryl DMC McDaniels, Lil Sugar is a sneaky sugar cube and master of disguise whose primary goal is to ensure that no one recognizes Lil Sugar’s many disguises until it’s too late.
Since Lil Sugar can be so sneaky, we’ve teamed up with OPEN, The Online Physical Education Network, to crowdsource a collection of nutrition education activities based on our Lil Sugar nutrition literacy campaign. 15 Educators across the country created and shared innovative, inclusive and culturally relevant K-8 activity plans to accompany our Lil Sugar resources and help children recognize different forms of sugar and learn to limit intake of foods high in added sugars.
Thank you to all of the educators who took the time to create and submit activities for this project. Check out the Lil Sugar activities resource collection on our resource page.
Of course, not all sugars are unhealthy; naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables are useful simple carbohydrates that our bodies need and use for energy. Lil Sugar is an excellent complement to Hip Hop Public Health’s “Go, Slow, Whoa!” nutrition literacy strategy that is woven into the foundation of other featured resources such as Hip Hop HEALS and the Songs for a Healthier America album, created in partnership with Former First Lady Michelle Obama and The Partnership for a Healthier America.
In addition to an original song and music video, the Lil Sugar multi-platform campaign features a downloadable book, a dedicated website and an interactive mobile app that arms parents, children, educators and the general public with the tools and information they need to take action against the harmful consequences of consuming too much sugar.
Lil Sugar was created by a collaborative multi-media team including AREA 23, an IPG Health Company, Zombie, Canja, Blurred Vision Entertainment, BizSys, Asteroide, Produceria, and Darryl DMC McDaniels.
