Among young British children, 40% of daily free sugar intake comes from sugar-sweetened beverages, including fruit juices and smoothies, according to study findings presented at the European Obesity Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“Primary school children are consuming, on average, around four times more than the recommended maximum levels of sugar in their diet each day,”Peymane Adab, MD, professor of public health at the University of Birmingham Institute of Applied Health Research, told Endocrine Today. “The main sources of free sugar intake are drinks, including carbonated and sugar-sweetened beverages (25% of total intake), but also fruit juices and smoothies with no added sugar (15% of total intake). The other major source of sugar intake was desserts, including cakes, puddings and sweetened yogurt.”

Peymane Adab

Adab and Kiya Hurley, a research assistant and PhD student at the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, analyzed data from the WAVES study, a cluster-randomized obesity prevention intervention trial in primary schools in the United Kingdom (n = 1,085). Researchers assessed dietary intake with the Child and Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET), a 24-hour food check-off list; CADET foods were matched to the U.K. National Diet and Nutrition Survey database. Nutrient compositions were drawn from McCance and Widdowson’s nutrient database for total sugar intake information. Researchers applied the ratios of intrinsic sugars to free sugars from the diet and nutrition survey to the total sugar values in the McCance and Widdowson’s database; a value for free sugar was generated for each CADET food and a weighted average produced for each category.

The researchers found that mean daily intake of free sugars was 74.6 g, or 17.4% of energy intake. Of the free sugar consumed, 25% was from “fizzy drinks, squash and fruit drinks,” and 15% came from fruit juice and smoothies. Other free sugar consumption was attributed to chocolate, sweets, toffees and mints (10%), cakes, buns and sponge puddings (8%), and from yogurt and fromage frais (7%).

Kiya Hurley

The maximum daily recommendation for free sugar intake for children is 19 g, according to Public Health England.

“High sugar intake is a major contributor to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity,” Adab said. “Unless this pattern of consumption is changed, children are at risk of the emotional, social and health consequences associated with obesity in childhood, and higher risk of cardiometabolic disease and cancers in adulthood.”

Adab said parents should encourage water and milk as the main beverages for children, and limit other drinks and desserts to “occasional treats.” – by Regina Schaffer