1247Low-calorie sweeteners consumption: a population-based study from Campinas, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Background The addition of low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) has been increasingly used by industry but their metabolic effects are controversial. Objectives: to estimate the consumption of foods and beverages with LCS among adolescents, adults and the elderly and to verify which food categories most contribute to this consumption. Methods Cross-sectional study. We used data from the Campinas Health Survey (ISACamp 2014-15) and the Food Consumption and Nutritional Status Survey (ISACamp-Nutri 2015-16) of 2570 individuals from 10 years old. We estimated the prevalence of LCS consumption and described the food categories that most contributed to this consumption. Using regression analysis, we verified which population groups had the highest consumption of products with LCS. Results More than 40% of adolescents, adults and the elderly consumed at least one product with LCS, mainly coming from sweetened beverages, tabletop sweeteners, and yogurt and other dairy beverages. The consumption of LCS was evenly found across adolescents and elderly from all socioeconomic strata, and whether elderly participants presented overweight and/or diabetes. Among adults, greater prevalence of foods and beverages with LCS consumption was found in those with higher education but did not vary by the presence of overweight and/or diabetes. Conclusions We found similar consumption of foods and beverages with LCS in most socioeconomic strata, and in participants with and without overweight or diabetes. Key messages The results can contribute to the development of public policies on clearer information of LCS addition in food labels.