Abstract
Few studies have examined the association between dietary sugar intake and obesity in Asian children and adolescents. We evaluated the association of dietary sugar intake and its food source with obesity in Korean children and adolescents. In this cross-sectional analysis, data were obtained from five studies conducted between 2002 and 2011. The study included 2599 children and adolescents who had completed more than three days of dietary records and had anthropometric data. Total sugar intake was higher in girls than in boys (54.3 g for girls and 46.6 g for boys, p < 0.0001). Sugar intake from milk and fruits was inversely associated with overweight or obesity in girls only (OR for overweight, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32–0.84; p for trend = 0.0246 and OR for obesity, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23–0.79; p for trend = 0.0113). Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption was not associated with obesity in girls, while boys had lower odds ratios for obesity (OR for obesity, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.26–1.05; p for trend = 0.0310). These results suggest that total sugars and SSB intake in Asian children and adolescents remains relatively low and sugar intake from milk and fruits is associated with a decreased risk of overweight or obesity, especially in girls.
Highlights
Obesity in childhood and adolescence is a major public health concern worldwide
body mass index (BMI) (Body Mass Index); 2 Overweight was defined as 85th–95th percentile for age, gender-specific BMI; obesity was defined as ě95th percentile or BMI ě 25; 3 Physical activity was defined as “physically active” if subjects participated in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 20 min per day, or three days out of the last seven days; 4 All values for continuous variables were tested using a generalized linear model (GLM), and all values for categorical variables were evaluated using the chi-square test
Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake was categorized into two groups: those who drank SSB < 200 mL and SSB ě 200 mL per day among SSB drinkers; 2 Overweight was defined as 85th–95th percentile for age, gender-specific BMI; obesity was defined as ě95th percentile or BMI ě 25; 3 A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to test associations between SSB and obesity after adjusting for age, study number, energy intake, maternal education, and physical activity
Summary
Obesity in childhood and adolescence is a major public health concern worldwide. The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has remained high and was 16.9% for two- to 19-year-olds in the United States, 14% for two- to 15-year-olds in the UK and 12.6% for eight- to 17-year-olds in. Song et al [11] reported that Korean adolescents followed a secular trend from the traditional Korean diet to a Western diet between 1998 and 2005, which is associated with obesity. One characteristic of this shift to a Western diet is higher dietary sugar intake from processed foods. Considering the increasing trend in sugar intake, examining the associations of pediatric obesity with dietary sugar intake in the. In this study we evaluated dietary sugars and their food sources and examined the association of sugar intake with obesity in Korean children and adolescents
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
