Tag: sugar sweetened drinks

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Sugar Intake Decreasing but Still Too High

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Further action needed, according to a University of Bonn study on child and adolescent nutrition

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University of Bonn researchers have analysed data on sugar intake among children and adolescents in a long-term study, finding that intake has been declining steadily since 2010 – but is still above the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The results, to be published in the European Journal of Nutrition, are already available online.

“Our study concerns the intake of free sugars,” explains Dr Ines Perrar, who is a research associate at the University of Bonn Institute of Nutritional and Food Science (IEL) and lead author of the study. “There is debate on whether sugar, like salt and fats, is linked to the development of chronic diseases.” The WHO defines “free” sugar as any form of sugar, including honey, syrup and fruit juice concentrates, added by a manufacturer or when preparing food and beverages at home. Free sugar also includes sugar naturally occurring in juices.

For their project, IEL researchers analysed data from the “Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed” cohort study (DONALD). The DONALD study has been ongoing since 1985, gathering detailed data on nutrition, metabolism, growth and health of children and adolescents. “Study participants weigh and document everything they eat and drink on three consecutive days every year,” relates Dr Ute Nöthlings, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology at the IEL. “Referring to our Institute’s in-house nutrient database, we are able to estimate intake of certain nutrients, including free sugars.”

Sugar intake too high among adolescents in particular

The authors evaluated 4218 sets of three-day weighing dietary records by 751 children and adolescents between ages three and 18 in the years 2010–2023. “Our finding is that free sugar intake continues to decline,” Dr Perrar notes, “but average daily intake still exceeds the level recommended by the WHO and the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, DGE) of a maximum 10% of total daily energy intake.”

An analysis of DONALD back in 2019 already indicated that free sugar intake has been declining since 2005, then in 2016 a median value of approximately 16% of daily energy intake was determined. That value has subsequently declined further to 11.7%. The researchers surmise this trend may be explained by increased awareness of the health consequences of excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and certain other sugary foods.

While the decline definitely represents good progress, there are noteworthy age group differences, as Professor Nöthlings points out, who is director of the DONALD study, spokesperson for the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) Sustainable Futures and a member of the Life and Health TRA at the University of Bonn: “During the observation period, we saw a relatively high intake of free sugars around 15 percent of the daily energy intake in some cases, particularly among adolescents aged six to 14. The intake then declines significantly with increasing age.”

Actual sugar intake likely higher

The researchers point out that the actual sugar intake is likely higher than the study data suggests, due in part to potential under-reporting by the study participants self-reporting on what they eat. In addition, the study is not broadly representative of society, as the design of this large study favours participation by families of a rather higher socioeconomic status who are generally more aware regarding nutrition and health issues.

Source: University of Bonn

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Each Gram of Sugar Dropped from a Diet Slows Biological Aging

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Researchers at UC San Francisco have found a link between following a diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals, especially one without much added sugar, and having a younger biological age at the cellular level.

They looked at how three different measures of healthy eating affected an “epigenetic clock” – a biochemical test that can approximate both health and lifespan – and found that the better people ate, the younger their cells looked. Even when people ate healthy diets, each gram of added sugar they consumed was associated with an increase in their epigenetic age.

“The diets we examined align with existing recommendations for preventing disease and promoting health, and they highlight the potency of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients in particular,” said Dorothy Chiu, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and first author of the study, appearing in JAMA Network Open. “From a lifestyle medicine standpoint, it is empowering to see how heeding these recommendations may promote a younger cellular age relative to chronological age.”

The study is one of the first to show a link between added sugar and epigenetic aging, and the first to examine this link in a heterogenous group of women – both Black and white – in midlife. Most studies on the topic have involved older white participants.

The study helps deepen our understanding of why sugar is so detrimental to health, said study co-senior author Elissa Epel, PhD, a UCSF professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

“We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor,” Epel said. “Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging is underlying this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity.”

Women in the study reported consuming an average of 61.5 grams of added sugar per day, though the range was large: from 2.7 to 316 grams of added sugar daily. A bar of milk chocolate has about 25 grams of added sugar, while a can of cola has about 39 grams. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends adults consume no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day.

A nutrient-based approach

For the cross-sectional study, researchers analysed food records from 342 Black and white women with a mean age of 39 years from Northern California. Then, they compared their diets with epigenetic clock measures, which were derived from saliva samples.

Researchers scored the women’s diets to see how they compared to a Mediterranean-style diet rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods and then to a diet linked to lower risk for chronic disease.

Finally, they scored the women’s diets against a measure they created called the “Epigenetic Nutrient Index (ENI),” which is based on nutrients (not foods) that have been linked to anti-oxidative or anti-inflammatory processes and DNA maintenance and repair. These include Vitamins A, C, B12 and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fibre and isoflavones.

Adherence to any of the diets was significantly associated with lower epigenetic age, with the Mediterranean diet having the strongest association.

The researchers examined sugar intake separately and found that consuming foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated biological aging, even in the presence of an otherwise healthy diet.

“Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day is akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months, if sustained over time,” said co-senior author Barbara Laraia, PhD, RD, a UC Berkeley professor in the Food, Nutrition and Population Health program. “Focusing on foods that are high in key nutrients and low in added sugars may be a new way to help motivate people to eat well for longevity.”

Source: University of California San Francisco

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Lessons Learned from Combating Smoking and Other Market-driven Epidemics

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Researchers share insights from US reduction of cigarette, sugar, and opioid consumption

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A case definition of market-driven epidemics (MDEs) could help address critical barriers to timely, effective prevention and mitigation, according to a study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Jonathan Quick from Duke University School of Medicine, US, and colleagues.

The misuse and overconsumption of certain consumer products have become major global risk factors for premature deaths at all ages, with their total costs in trillions of dollars. Progress in reducing such deaths has been difficult, slow, and too often unsuccessful. To address this challenge, Jonathan Quick and colleagues introduced a case definition of MDEs, which arise when companies aggressively market products with proven harms, deny these harms, and actively oppose mitigation efforts. To demonstrate the application of this concept, the researchers selected three MDE products: cigarettes, sugar, and prescription opioids. Based on the histories of these three epidemics, the researchers described five MDE phases: market expansion, evidence of harm, corporate resistance, mitigation, and market adaptation.

From the peak of consumption to the most recent available data, US cigarette sales fell by 82%, sugar consumption by 15%, and prescription opioid prescriptions by 62%. In each case, the consumption tipping point occurred when compelling evidence of harm, professional alarm, and an authoritative public health voice or public mobilisation overcame the impact of corporate marketing and resistance efforts. Among the three epidemics, the gap between suspicion of harm and the consumption tipping point ranged from one to five decades – much of which was attributable to the time required to generate sufficient evidence of harm. Market adaptation to the reduced consumption of target products had both negative impacts (eg, geographical shift of corporate marketing efforts) and positive impacts (eg, consumer shift away from sugar-sweetened beverages).

According to the authors, this is the first comparative analysis of three successful efforts to change the product consumption patterns of millions of people – and, over time, some of the associated adverse health impacts of these products. The MDE epidemiological approach of shortening the latent time between phases provides the global health community with a new method to address existing and emerging potentially harmful products and their health, social, and economic impacts.

While the specific product and circumstances are unique to each MDE, understanding the epidemiology of consumption and health impacts, and epidemic milestones, should help public health leaders combat current MDEs and more swiftly recognise future MDEs. Given the similar patterns among different MDEs, public health leaders, researchers, civil society and others can apply the mitigation strategies presented in the review article to save lives and lessen the impact of continuing and emerging MDEs.

The authors add: “The use of cigarettes and other unhealthy products costs the world millions of lives and trillions of dollars each year.  An analysis of U.S. progress against three such market-driven epidemics demonstrates that we can save lives through earlier, more decisive action by public health leaders, researchers, and public mobilization,” concluding: “The use of cigarettes and other unhealthy products often follow patterns similar to infectious disease epidemics, causing widespread harm before any public health response. We can save lives by recognizing these market-driven epidemics earlier and acting more decisively to control them.”

Provided by PLOS

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Giving Fizzy Drinks to Toddlers Increases Adult Obesity Risk

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Consuming sugar-sweetened drinks in the first few years of childhood can be linked to poor diet patterns that increase the risk of obesity in later life, according to a new study by the School of Psychology at Swansea University.

Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study tracked the influence of diet on 14 000 British children from birth to adulthood and is believed to be the longest of its kind ever reported.

Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, the research team found:

  • Children who drank fizzy drinks such as cola or sugar-sweetened fruit cordials before the age of two gained more weight when they were 24 years old. Girls who had pure fruit juice gained less weight, while the weight of boys remained the same.
  • At three years of age, toddlers who drank cola consumed more calories, fat, protein, and sugar but less fibre. In contrast, those given pure apple juice consumed less fat and sugar but higher amounts of fibre.

The study also highlighted corresponding differences in food choices.

Children who consumed pure apple juice often followed a diet with more fish, fruit, green vegetables, and salad, whereas those drinking cola ate more burgers, sausages, pizza, french fries, meat, chocolate, and sweets.

Additionally, the team discovered a link between sugar-sweetened drinks and social deprivation, with children from affluent backgrounds more likely to have access to pure fruit juice.

Lead researcher Professor David Benton said: “The early diet establishes a food pattern that influences, throughout life, whether weight increases. The important challenge is to ensure that a child develops a good dietary habit: one that offers less fat and sugar, although pure fruit juice, one of your five a day, adds vitamin C, potassium, folate, and plant polyphenols.”

Dr Hayley Young added: “Obesity is a serious health concern, one that increases the risk of many other conditions. Our study shows that the dietary causes of adult obesity begin in early childhood and that if we are to control it, more attention needs to be given to our diet in the first years of life.”

Source: Swansea University

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Sweetened Drinks Linked to Higher Atrial Fibrillation Risk

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An analysis of UK Biokank data showed that adults who reported drinking two litres or more of sugar- or artificially sweetened drinks per week had a higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with adults who drank fewer such beverages, according to new research published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

The study also found that drinking one litre or less per week of pure, unsweetened juice, such as orange or vegetable juice, was associated with a lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib). However, the study could not confirm whether the sweetened drinks caused AFib, yet the association remained after accounting for a person’s genetic susceptibility to the condition.

Consuming sweetened drinks has been linked to Type 2 diabetes and obesity in previous research. This large study of health data in the UK Biobank is among the first to assess a possible link between sugar- or artificially sweetened beverages and AFib.

“Our study’s findings cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses more health risk than another due to the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage,” said lead study author Ningjian Wang, MD, PhD, a researcher at the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China. “However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible. Do not take it for granted that drinking low-sugar and low-calorie artificially sweetened beverages is healthy, it may pose potential health risks.”

The researchers reviewed data from dietary questionnaires and genetic data for more than 200 000 adults free of AFib at the time they enrolled in the UK Biobank, between 2006 and 2010. During the nearly 10-year follow-up period, there were 9362 cases of AFib among the study participants.

The analysis found:Compared to people who did not consume any sweetened drinks, there was a 20% increased risk of atrial fibrillation among people who said they drank more than 2 litres per week of artificially sweetened beverages; and a 10% increased risk among participants who reported drinking 2 litres per week or more of sugar-sweetened beverages.

People reporting 1 litre or less of pure fruit juice each week had an 8% lower risk of atrial fibrillation.

Participants who consumed more artificially sweetened beverages were more likely to be female, younger, have a higher body mass index and a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.

Participants who consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to be male, younger, have a higher body mass index, a higher prevalence of heart disease and lower socioeconomic status.

Those who drank sugar-sweetened beverages and pure juice were more likely to have a higher intake of total sugar than those who drank artificially sweetened drinks.

Smoking may have also affected risk, with smokers who drank more than two litres per week of sugar-sweetened beverages having a 31% higher risk of AFib, whereas no significant increase risk was noted for former smokers or people who never smoked.

“These novel findings on the relationships among atrial fibrillation risk and sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages and pure juice may prompt the development of new prevention strategies by considering decreasing sweetened drinks to help improve heart health,” Wang said.

Researchers also evaluated whether a genetic susceptibility to AFib was a factor in the association with sweetened beverages. The analysis found the AFib risk was high with the consumption of more than 2 litres of artificially sweetened drinks per week regardless of genetic susceptibility.

Source: American Heart Association

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Exercise does not Cancel out Cardiovascular Risks of Sugary Drinks

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Contrary to popular belief, the benefits of physical activity do not outweigh the risks of cardiovascular disease associated with drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugars in the North American diet. Their consumption is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death.

“The marketing strategies for these drinks often show active people drinking these beverages. It suggests that sugary drink consumption has no negative effects on health if you’re physically active. Our research aimed to assess this hypothesis,” says co-author Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Pharmacy.

For the study, the scientists used two cohorts totalling around 100 000 adults, followed for about 30 years.

The data show that those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages more than twice a week had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of physical activity levels.

The study found that even if the recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity protects against cardiovascular disease, it’s not enough to counter the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.

“Physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with sugar-sweetened beverages by half, but it does not fully eliminate it,” says Drouin-Chartier.

The frequency of consumption considered in the study – twice a week – is relatively low but still is significantly associated with cardiovascular disease risk.

With daily consumption, the risk of cardiovascular disease is even higher. For this reason, Drouin-Chartier underlines the importance of targeting the omnipresence of sugar-sweetened beverages in the food environment.

This category includes soft and carbonated drinks (with or without caffeine), lemonade, and fruit cocktails. The study did not specifically consider energy drinks, but they also tend to be sugar-sweetened.

For artificially sweetened drinks, often presented as an alternative solution to sugar-sweetened beverages, their consumption was not associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.

“Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages by diet drinks is good, because it reduces the amount of sugar. But the best drink option remains water,” explains Drouin-Chartier.

“Our findings provide further support for public health recommendations and policies to limit people’s intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as to encourage people to meet and maintain adequate physical activity levels,” added lead author Lorena Pacheco, a research scientist in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School.

Source: Université Laval