Jo Hyun-ah of Urban Zakapa says she once ate 8 tanghuru skewers a day before losing 17 kg

Jo Hyun-ah (37), a member of Urban Zakapa, has drawn attention after revealing she once ate as many as eight tanghuru skewers a day. She pointed to her fondness for sweet desserts as a key reason behind a significant weight gain at the time. Experts note that frequently eating high-sugar snacks not only raises daily calorie intake but can also affect food preferences and appetite control.

Jo made the disclosure on her YouTube channel "Jo Hyun-ah's Ordinary Thursday Night," saying, "I gained a lot of weight because of tanghuru — I was eating eight of them a day." She added that she also went out of her way to get Dubai Chewy Cookies when they were trending, revealing her love of sweet desserts.

Jo had previously announced on a broadcast in September that she had lost 17 kg. Her mention of the high-sugar snacks she once enjoyed came amid that broader account of weight gain and loss. Experts stress that repeatedly consuming foods high in sugar tends to drive up overall daily calorie intake, making it important to manage both the amount and frequency of consumption.

Why sweet snacks lead to weight gain — and why total calories matter more than sugar alone

Tanghuru is a dessert made by skewering fruits such as strawberries, grapes or tangerines and coating them in sugar syrup. The fruit itself already contains natural sugars, and the added coating raises the total sugar content and calorie count — meaning a person consumes more energy than by eating the same amount of plain fruit.

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that provides about 4 kcal per gram. Repeatedly eating sugary snacks on top of regular meals makes it easy for total daily calorie intake to climb. If meal portions do not decrease much after snacking, the energy consumed can exceed the energy burned, leading to weight gain.

Large-scale research analyzing the relationship between sugar intake and body weight has confirmed this pattern.

A 2013 analysis published in The BMJ examined 30 randomized clinical trials and 38 cohort studies. The researchers looked at how changes in sugar intake affected body weight in adults who ate freely in their daily lives.

The group that reduced sugar intake lost an average of 0.8 kg more than the comparison group. The group that increased sugar intake gained an average of 0.75 kg.

The researchers noted that when sugar was replaced with other carbohydrates while keeping total calorie intake the same, there was no significant difference in weight change. This suggests that the main way sugar intake affects body weight is through changes in overall energy consumption.

It is also worth examining the difference between fruit and sugar-added desserts. Fruit contains not only sugar but also water, dietary fiber and vitamins, and the fiber helps maintain a feeling of fullness. When eating tanghuru, a person takes in additional sugar through the coating on top of the nutrients already present in the fruit.

How repeatedly eating sweet foods changes the brain's reward system

The tendency to keep craving sweet foods is also linked to the brain's reward system. When a person eats something enjoyable, neural circuits involved in pleasure, motivation and learning are activated. When this experience is repeated, preferences and anticipation for certain foods can become established.

A 2023 clinical trial published in Cell Metabolism examined how the brain's response changes after repeatedly consuming snacks high in sugar and fat.

The researchers divided 49 normal-weight adults into two groups and had them add snacks to their regular diet for eight weeks. One group received yogurt high in fat and sugar twice a day, while the other received yogurt low in fat and sugar.

After the experiment, the group that consumed the high-fat, high-sugar snacks showed a reduced preference for low-fat foods. Their brain responses when anticipating food or actually eating something enjoyable also grew stronger.

Notably, these changes were observed even though the participants showed no significant changes in body weight or metabolic indicators. The researchers concluded that repeated food experiences can influence reward-related neural circuits and food preferences.

The experiment involved snacks high in both sugar and fat, so the results do not directly show whether the same changes occur from consuming sugar alone. The findings do confirm, however, that the taste of food and the experience of eating it repeatedly play an important role in shaping eating habits.

As a preference for sweet foods grows stronger, it can lead a person to seek out certain desserts even when not hungry. The experience of craving something sweet after a full meal is influenced not only by hunger but also by taste memories, anticipation and habits formed over time.

How much sugar should you eat per day — the WHO's recommended guidelines

When managing sugar intake, it helps to look at both snacks and beverages consumed throughout the day. Tanghuru and cookies are not the only sources — sweetened coffee, carbonated drinks and fruit juice can also contain significant amounts of sugar.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that both adults and children limit their intake of free sugars to less than 10 percent of total daily energy. Reducing intake to below 5 percent provides additional health benefits, it notes.

Free sugars refer not only to sugar added during food manufacturing or cooking but also to sugars found in honey, syrups and fruit juice. Sugars naturally present in whole fruits and vegetables are not included in this definition.

For an adult consuming 2,000 kcal a day, limiting free sugars to less than 50 g corresponds to the 10 percent threshold. The 5 percent threshold, which may offer additional health benefits, works out to about 25 g.

The sugar content of tanghuru varies depending on the type and size of fruit used and the thickness of the sugar coating, making it difficult to calculate a uniform figure for a single skewer. Eating several in a row, or one with a thick coating, can cause intake to rise quickly.

One way to enjoy snacks while keeping sugar intake in check is to decide on a portion in advance. Choosing a moderate amount rather than buying multiple items at once, and pairing snacks with water or unsweetened beverages instead of sweetened drinks, can help limit additional sugar consumption.

When craving something sweet, choosing whole fruit instead of sugar-added desserts is another option. It allows a person to take in the water and dietary fiber naturally present in fruit while reducing the amount of added sugar consumed.

People who eat at irregular times or skip meals may find it easier to overeat snacks afterward. Maintaining consistent meal habits and eating foods rich in protein and dietary fiber can help with everyday appetite management.

More important than enjoying sweet desserts is managing how much and how often they are eaten. Checking the sugar content of everyday foods and beverages and maintaining a balanced overall diet are the foundations of healthy weight management.