Dietary sugars and NCDs

Abstract

A high dietary intake of free sugars, and particularly sugar-sweetened beverages, is an important cause of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. The WHO recommends that free sugars contribute <10% of the total energy intake (<30–40 g or <120–160 calories per day for an adult, approximately) throughout the life course, and ideally <5%. This chapter describes the definitions of sugars and sugar drinks, the sources of sugar in the diet, the physiologic characteristics of sugar in relation to health outcomes, as well as natural or artificial no-calorie sweeteners. Public health interventions to reduce dietary sugar intake in the whole population are presented, including education programmes, public procurement policies, front-of-pack labelling, measures to reduce the marketing of sugary drinks and foods, reformulation of sugar products to reduce their sugar content, the importance of a high excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and monitoring.