Impact of Usual Intake of Added Sugars on Nutrient Adequacy: NHANES 2009–2012

Abstract

The impact of usual intake (UI) of added sugars on nutrient adequacy in the US population was measured using NHANES 2009–2012 data of children (2–18 years; n=6,109) and adults (19+ years; n=10,697). Dietary intake data were obtained from 24‐hour dietary recall interviews using an Automated Multiple‐Pass Method. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Method was used to estimate UI of added sugars and other nutrients. Individual UI of subjects 2–18 and 19+ years, were separated into six groups: 0<5, 5 to <10, 10 to <15, 15 to <20, 20 to <25, and ≥25% of energy as added sugars. Covariate adjusted regression coefficients were generated to examine the magnitude of the association between the percentages of the population below the EAR and added sugars intake. For most nutrients with an EAR (13/17 in children and 14/17 in adults) added sugars intake was not related (p>0.01) to nutrient adequacy. For those nutrients affected (primarily calcium (beta= 10.48; p=0.003) and vitamin E (beta=5.72; p= 0.003) for children and vitamins D (beta= 1.42; p= 0.001) and E (beta= 3.95; p= 0.008) for adults) the percentage of the population with inadequate intakes were high even in the lower added sugars groups. The point of inflection where micronutrient intakes appeared to be most apparent for these nutrients was between 20% – <25% of total energy from added sugars; regression analyses using four groups (0– <5, 5– <10, 10– <15, 15– <20 % energy as added sugars) did not show significant relationships with the nutrients studied. These results suggest that poor food choices independent, or only partially related to added sugars intake, may have a larger impact on nutrient adequacy rather than added sugars specifically. Future work might consider co‐modeling added sugars intake with energy intake using more sophisticated models becoming available.Support or Funding InformationUSDA/ARS through specific cooperative agreement 58‐6250‐6‐003 and from the USDA Hatch Project LAB 94209. Partial support was also received from the Corn Refiners Association.