Consumption of Added Sugars

Increased consumption of added sugars, which are sweeteners added to processed and prepared foods, has been linked to a decrease in intake of essential micronutrients and an increase in body weight.  The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 recommends limiting total intake of discretionary calories, including both added sugars and solid fats, to 5%–15% per day. Recent analyses indicate that children and adolescents obtain approximately 16% of their total caloric intake from added sugars.

NCHS has put out a new report that presents results for consumption of added sugars among U.S. adults for 2005–2010.

Key findings from the report:

• Approximately 13% of adults’ total caloric intakes came from added sugars between 2005 and 2010.
• The mean percentage of total calories from added sugars decreased with increasing age and increasing income.
• Non-Hispanic black men and women consumed a larger percentage of their total calories from added sugars than non-Hispanic white and Mexican-American men and women.
• More of the calories from added sugars came from foods rather than beverages.
• More of the calories from added sugars were consumed at home rather than away from home.

COMMENT:
The somewhat counter-intuitive finding in this report is that most calories from added sugars come from foods rather than beverages. However, other research has shown that when looking at individual items – either specific food items or specific beverages – regular sodas are the leading food source of added sugars for adults aged 18-54.