Extensive research went into uncovering the massive variety of sugar compositions that currently exist in commonly consumed processed foods and soft drinks.

After leveraging our research to create a robust index of different forms of sugar across multiple categories, we then used the scientific attributes of the various sugars we indexed as the basis for our character development.

As a result, each character was named after a specific form of sugar and illustrated to visually highlight the various products that typically contain that form of sugar.

Additional development and broad data collection effort, now qualifies the app to be entered.

Excess sugar consumption by children is a gigantic problem in the US. It's a key driver for more serious diseases, from childhood obesity to diabetes, both being risk factors for other illnesses such as heart disease and COVID-19.

To make matters worse, added sugar is in most packaged foods, but goes by over 150 obscure names.

Health literacy isn’t exactly kids' favorite topic, so how do we raise awareness about the issue and drive behavior change without boring them to death?

We do this by exposing all of sugar’s disguises and turning kids, parents, and caregivers into sugar experts, and by doing what the food industry does every day: presenting ourselves as something kids love.

We knew that only by observing what every kid is crazy about, could we find the right angle to talk about nutrition education and keep them engaged; things like music, gaming, and storytelling.

There are at least 150 different names for sugar found in 74% of packaged goods in the United States. These names are often difficult to pronounce and too scientific for the average person to understand.

In response to that insight, we decided to take on big sugar in a whole new way by creating Lil Sugar—an evil sugar cube who is a master of disguise. Each disguise represents one of the obscure names that the food industry uses to hide sugar inside commonly consumed packaged foods and soft drinks.

The Lil Sugar campaign fuses hip hop, gaming, technology, and storytelling in a fresh and engaging way to help expose all of sugar’s secret disguises. Now, with captivating educational resources and an entertaining app that processes nutrition label data to help kids reveal hidden sugars, making healthier decisions about sugar consumption can actually be fun.

Our research started with compiling a list of over 200 disguised sugars. We then categorized the various forms of sugar based on their scientific composition.

Next, we wrote descriptions of each sugar that included information such as the foods and soft drinks it is often found in, its history of use, its potential side effects, and its glycemic index value.

Once we had gathered and organized this robust set of information, we put together programmable data sets that could be coded into a digital application designed to target children and parents who typically download educational games on their smart devices. 

Using the data files created from our research and indexing of obscure forms of sugar, we developed an app that allows kids to capture and reveal disguised sugars in packaged goods by pointing the in-app smartphone camera at the ingredients list in the nutrition facts label.

Once captured, hidden sugar characters become collectible cards that can then be used to “battle” other sugars with various disguises. Algorithms for features such as Health Power and Battle Mode were created to translate dense medical stats into engaging fun.

Vital terminology related to different forms of hidden sugar is also displayed after each battle, which helps reinforce children’s knowledge in an exciting and memorable way.

The campaign continues to show strong growth across the United States thanks to partnerships with community events who so far reported:

• 42,462 downloads of activities including Lil Sugar

• 5,852 schools have registered and reported participation

• Over 4 million students have interacted with the campaign

The most recent nationwide event involving children and educators is 2022’s OPEN National Field Day event, which took Lil Sugar’s content through educational activities to:

• 28 countries/territories

• 47 US states

• 147 metropolitan areas

• 1,585 teachers

• 833,710 students

Endorsed by NYC Board of Education, the Lil Sugar campaign is becoming a grassroots movement with the power to turn everyone into a nutrition literacy advocate.

Top 3 Countries:

1. United States

2. Canada

3. Australia

Top 3 States:

1. New York

2. Massachusetts

3. Illinois

Top 5 Cities:

1. New York

2. Boston

3. Syracuse

4. Washington DC

5. Chicago 

Overconsumption of sugar in underprivileged Black communities is a story of systemic racism that goes back hundreds of years. Through the practice of redlining, that is, the official drawing of geopolitical boundaries around Black communities and White communities, and the consequent actions taken on those neighborhoods by banks, real estate industry, and school systems, the result is that Black communities suffer in many ways.  

One outcome is the creation of food deserts: lack of access to healthy food within those communities and lack of nutrition literacy, which further contributes to obesity, diabetes, and increased mortality. 

Hip Hop Public Health pushes back against this historic, systemic racism by providing fun and accessible education on health topics. Darryl McDaniels from Run DMC is passionate about healthy food and nutrition literacy and has made this his passion project to make sure kids have the education they need to make better food choices.