You're more likely to reach for that soda when it's hot outside

It's no secret Americans consume too much sugar, according to public health guidelines . Now, researchers have found one possible trigger that pushes people to reach for sweet things: hot weather.

Researchers tracked Americans' grocery receipts over several years and found that sugar intake rises in the summer — and the spike in consumption is driven largely by consuming more sugary beverages like sodas, energy drinks, and sweetened juices.

Sugar consumption increased slightly with each degree Celsius of warming, the study found.

"As temperatures get higher, people tend to increase their added sugar consumption," says Pan He, an environmental scientist at Cardiff University and an author on the study, which was published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The study