Background
Public health organizations in the United States (US) have recently increased focus on reducing population consumption of added sugars.
Objective
The objective of this study is to provide in-depth information on national trends in added sugars consumption and examine both the mean and the distribution of added sugars intake from 1977 to 2012.
Design
We conducted a descriptive study using 6 cross-sectional nationally representative surveys of food intake in the United States: the 1977–1978 National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS; n = 29,668), the 1989–1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII; n = 14,827), the 1994–1998 CSFII (n = 19,027), the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; n = 8,273), the 2009–2010 NHANES (n = 9,042), and the 2011–2012 NHANES (n = 16,451).
Analysis
We examined the key dependent variables calories from added sugars and percentage of total energy intake from added sugars at the mean and by quintiles of added sugars consumption for children (2–18 years) and adults (≥ 19 years) across the survey years. We also examined trends in added sugars intakes from foods and beverages. We used ordinary least squares regression to examine linear trends between survey years and multinomial logistic regressions to examine sociodemographics by quintile of added sugars consumption. We adjusted estimates by gender, race, income, and education.
Results
The US mean adjusted intake of added sugars remains high. In 2011–2012 children and adults consumed 326 kilocalories/day and 308 kilocalories/day, respectively, of added sugars, or 14% and 17%, respectively, of total their energy. For both children and adults, there was a significant increase in calories from added sugars from 1977 to 2003, followed by a significant decline from 2003 to 2012. There was no decline in the percentage of the total energy intake from added sugars from 2003 to 2012. Changes over time were consistent across each quintile of added sugars consumption. The highest quintile of consumption was more likely to be male and in children was more likely to be non-Hispanic white.
Conclusion
Despite a decline in consumption of added sugars since 2003 in the United States, mean adjusted added sugars intakes continue to be above the recommended level of 10% of the total energy intake. Changes in added sugars consumption from 1977 through 2012 occurred evenly across the distribution of added sugars intakes.