Abstract
The intake of sugars is a trending topic in nutrition and health. For an evaluation of the sugar intake (comparison with existing guidelines), up-to-date information on the guidelines, dietary intake and trends in the intake is needed. The available information for European countries is presented in this review. The existing guidelines on the intake show that there is currently no consensus among the experts from different organizations. The differences are mainly due to the selection of the adverse health outcomes for which there is sufficient evidence. Data from national European surveys show that the mean proportion of energy coming from added sugars for most European population groups is below 10%, and that the trend in the intake seems to be downwards. There are, however, many serious uncertainties and assumptions needed for the assessment of the intake of sugars. For instance, the assessment reflects a short period of the lives of the respondents, the data collection in several surveys was conducted more than 10 years ago, and recent reformulations of the industry are not considered in the food composition tables. Due to the uncertainties regarding the assessment of the sugar intake in Europe, the information should be used prudently and with care.
Highlights
A reduction of the intake of sugars is a hot topic in relation to a decrease of energy intake to prevent body weight gain and accomplish weight loss among those with overweight or obesity
The quantitative guidelines were formulated for added sugars (Nordic countries) [19], free sugars
The results on the guidelines on sugars that apply to Europe show that there is no consensus among scientific experts due to differences in the recommendation on total, added, or free sugars and the chosen endpoint
Summary
A reduction of the intake of sugars is a hot topic in relation to a decrease of energy intake to prevent body weight gain and accomplish weight loss among those with overweight or obesity. There are two strategies to reduce the intake of sugars: changing consumer behaviour, via nutritional education or other policy measures such as nutritional labelling, and product reformulation by the industry. A sugar-substitution strategy of the industry can be partial, total, or gradual for different product categories, such as soft drinks, bakery, and ice cream [1,2]. Decisions have to be made on the sugar substitutes that may be artificial sweeteners, stevia, or polyols, such as malitol, xylitol or sorbitol [3]. Nastaj et al [5] showed that a significant reduction in the sugar content was possible, and that the reformulated product had the characteristic features of traditional meringue and lower caloric value
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