Sugar Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in College Students

Abstract

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that added sugars make up <25% of daily energy intake. The IOM does not have a recommendation for %energy from total sugars per day, however increased sugar consumption may lead to higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This cross‐sectional study in healthy college aged students (n=102; 21 males, 81 females; body fat=23.8 ± 9.1%) was designed to evaluate differences in cardio metabolic risk factors across total sugar intake as measured by the validated Comprehensive Nutrition Assessment Questionnaire. All subjects consumed a diet <25% energy from total sugar. ANOVA was used to compare tertiles of grams/day and %energy of total sugar and sucrose (SUC) intake for body fat percent (BodPod) and blood lipids (Cholestech). Subjects in the upper tertile for %energy from sugars had higher body fat as compared to the lower tertile (26.2±8.0 vs. 19.7±9.1%; p=.006) and higher triacylglycerol (TAG) (97.4±31.4 vs. 93.6±35.7mg/dL; p=.015). The upper tertile of SUC grams had higher TAG than the lower tertile (126.3±72.9 vs. 84.3±25.5mg/dL; p=.022) and lower HDL (53.5±10.7 vs. 59.1±13.3mg/dL; p=.04). The upper tertile of %energy from SUC had higher body fat (26.1±8.1 vs. <a name=”_GoBack”></a>20.4±9.5%; p=.029). Overall, higher consumption of total sugar and SUC was associated with higher values for CVD risk factors. While averages did not cross cut‐offs for CVD risk, these results suggest that biomarkers may begin to shift even within the IOM guideline for added sugar intake in healthy subjects consuming <25% energy from total sugar. Further research is needed to create a guideline for total daily sugar consumption in healthy and at‐risk populations to help decrease the risk of CVD development.