Abstract
A high consumption of discretionary foods and drinks has been associated with increased risk of multiple adverse health outcomes, including risk of overweight and dental caries. The family-based cluster randomized intervention study “Are you too sweet?” aimed at reducing the intake of discretionary foods and drinks in a population of children starting pre-school. As part of the intervention a new short web-based sugar-rich food screener (SRFS), was developed to make the parents and the school health nurses aware of the children’s intake of discretionary foods and drinks. In addition to the short assessment tool the parents also completed a validated web-based 7-day dietary record for the children. In the present study, estimates for intake of discretionary foods and drinks from the two assessment tools were compared (n = 80). There was significant correlation between estimates from the two assessment tools, but the SRFS provided lower estimates for intake of discretionary foods and drinks compared to the 7-day dietary record. The correlation coefficient between the two assessment tools was 0.49 (p < 0.001) and Kappa coefficient was 0.33. It is concluded that the SRFS can provide a fairly ranking of participants according to their intake of discretionary foods and drinks when compared to a validated 7-day dietary record. The screener may be a useful tool in practical settings, such as school health nurse consultations, in order to gain insight into the child’s sweet intake habits.
Highlights
High sugar intake from both foods and beverages has been associated with overweight in children and adults [1,2]
This is a secondary analysis of data from the “Are you too sweet?” study, where data from the intervention group are analyzed, as only this group of participants registered the intake of discretionary foods and drinks in both the 7-day dietary record and the sugar-rich food screener (SRFS)
One participant was removed from the sample due to an unusual high intake of discretionary drinks in both the SRFS and the 7-day dietary records
Summary
High sugar intake from both foods and beverages has been associated with overweight in children and adults [1,2]. This association is even more apparent between high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and increased body weight [3–6]. Previous studies have found a negative association between intake of added sugar and important micronutrients in the diet. This association is a result of foods with a high level of added sugar often being energy-dense, but low in micronutrients [7–9]. The foods that contribute the most to the intake of added sugar in the Danish population are candy, chocolate, and sugar-sweetened beverages [10]. Due to the possible health consequences of high sugar, and thereby risk of a high energy, intake, the World Health Organization (WHO), have suggested a maximum intake limit of 10 E% from free sugars in the diet and further health improvements by lowering the free sugar intake to less than
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