Decreasing the amount of sugar you consume is one of the best things you can do for your health. Despite one of the highest obesity rates in the world, a new report shows that Americans are technically consuming less sugar than they did about a decade earlier. According to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the percentage of diets that is comprised of sugar dropped from 18 percent between 1999 and 2000 to 14.6 percent between 2007 and 2008.

The main reason for the decline, about two-thirds of this decrease, is due to people drinking fewer sugar-sweetened sodas. “We were surprised to see that there was a substantial reduction over the years,” study researcher Dr. Jean Welsh, of Emory University in Atlanta, told Reuters.

However, consuming less sugar doesn’t necessary mean a low average. The American Heart Association states that Americans consume the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, with teens consuming 34, when women should only be getting 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, while men should only be getting 9.

The easiest way to cut the sugar is eliminating, or at least reducing, the sugar-sweetened soft drink intake. Drinking sugary drinks has been linked not just to obesity but also to cavities, weakening of bones, and may increase risk of stroke and ischemic heart disease. If you really can’t stop drinking sodas, look for alternatives such as natural sodas with zero calories and zero sugar.

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