Abstract
Dietary changes needed to achieve nutritional adequacy for 33 nutrients were determined for 1719 adults from a representative French national dietary survey. For each individual, an iso-energy nutritionally adequate diet was generated using diet modeling, staying as close as possible to the observed diet. The French food composition table was completed with free sugar (FS) content. Results were analyzed separately for individuals with FS intakes in their observed diets ≤10% or >10% of their energy intake (named below FS-ACCEPTABLE and FS-EXCESS, respectively). The FS-EXCESS group represented 41% of the total population (average energy intake of 14.2% from FS). Compared with FS-ACCEPTABLE individuals, FS-EXCESS individuals had diets of lower nutritional quality and consumed more energy (2192 vs. 2123 kcal/day), particularly during snacking occasions (258 vs. 131 kcal/day) (all p-values < 0.01). In order to meet nutritional targets, for both FS-ACCEPTABLE and FS-EXCESS individuals, the main dietary changes in optimized diets were significant increases in fresh fruits, starchy foods, water, hot beverages and plain yogurts; and significant decreases in mixed dishes/sandwiches, meat/eggs/fish and cheese. For FS-EXCESS individuals only, the optimization process significantly increased vegetables and significantly decreased sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet products and fruit juices. The diets of French adults with excessive intakes of FS are of lower nutritional quality, but can be optimized via specific dietary changes.
Highlights
In the current context of rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, sugar intake is increasingly singled out as a public health issue because of its implication in dental caries [1] and weight gain [2], and potentially type 2 diabetes [3,4] and cardiovascular diseases [5,6,7]
Include mono- and disaccharides added to food and beverages by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey and syrups, while “free sugars” comprise added sugars plus sugars from fruit juices and concentrates [10]
In this representative sample of French adults (n = 1693, weighted value), 41% of individuals (FS-EXCESS group, n = 690) had mean free sugar intakes above the 10% of energy intake level recommended by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) and 59%
Summary
In the current context of rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, sugar intake is increasingly singled out as a public health issue because of its implication in dental caries [1] and weight gain [2], and potentially type 2 diabetes [3,4] and cardiovascular diseases [5,6,7]. Organization (WHO) recently focused on the prevention and control of unhealthy weight gain and dental caries, making recommendations for the intake of free sugars in adults and children [9]. The WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of energy intake for both adults and children [9]. The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommended limiting energy intakes from added sugars to a maximum of 10% [12]. In France, no recommendation has been set yet for free sugars
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