Abstract
The objective of this study was to characterize the intakes of different types of sugars in an age- and sex-representative sample of French-speaking adults from five regions of the Province of Québec, Canada, enrolled in the cross-sectional PREDISE (PRÉDicteurs Individuels, Sociaux et Environnementaux) study (n = 1147, 18–65 years old; 50.2% women). Because only total sugar content of foods and beverages is available in the Canadian Nutrient File (CNF) 2015, the initial step of this study was thus to build a database of free and naturally occurring sugars content of each food item and recipe included in the R24W, which is an automated, self-administered, web-based, 24-h dietary recall validated to estimate nutrient intakes in French-speaking adults of the Province of Québec. Total sugars were manually differentiated into free and naturally occurring sugars using a systematic algorithm based on previously published systematic algorithms. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s free sugar definition was used to differentiate total sugars into free and naturally occurring sugars. Dietary intake estimates were assessed using three 24-h dietary recalls completed with the R24W. Mean total, free, and naturally occurring sugar intakes were 116.4 g (19.3% of daily energy intake (%E)), 72.5 g (11.7%E), and 44.0 g (7.5%E), respectively. Over half (57.3%) of the overall sample did not meet the WHO’s recommendation to consume less than 10%E from free sugars. Women had a higher %E from naturally occurring sugars than men and being younger was associated with a greater %E from free sugars. Sugar intakes among French-speaking adults from the Province of Québec were mainly in the form of free sugars, with the majority of the population exceeding the WHO recommendation regarding free sugar intake. This suggests that public health efforts towards reducing free sugar intake in this population are relevant and necessary, considering that overconsumption of free sugars negatively influences health outcomes.
Highlights
Sugar intake is a worldwide concern, a public health issue, and an active area of research because of its effect on excessive caloric intake and body weight gain as well as on health outcomes [1]
Data on free and naturally occurring sugar intakes are utterly lacking in Canada because only total sugar content of foods is available in the Canadian Nutrient File
We found that the majority of total sugar intake comes from free sugars and that more than half of the French-speaking Québec adult population does not meet World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommendation to consume less than 10%E from free sugars
Summary
Sugar intake is a worldwide concern, a public health issue, and an active area of research because of its effect on excessive caloric intake and body weight gain as well as on health outcomes [1]. Some food sources of sugars, such as fruits and vegetables, in which sugars are naturally occurring, are known to have beneficial health effects [2,3,4], whereas other sources, such as sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), containing free sugars, are deleterious to health [5,6]. A distinction between the different types of sugars (i.e., total, free, and naturally occurring sugars) is crucial to best appreciate the association between sugar intake and health [7].
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