Cargando…

Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study

Background: Diets rich in free sugars are associated with an increased risk of obesity. The aim of the present study is to estimate the intake of added sugars in the population of Spanish children and analyze the quality of the foods that contribute to this intake. Methods: An observational study wa...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Palma-Morales, Marta, Mesa-García, María Dolores, Huertas, Jesús R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9921831/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36771267
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15030560
_version_ 1784887406126694400
author Palma-Morales, Marta
Mesa-García, María Dolores
Huertas, Jesús R.
author_facet Palma-Morales, Marta
Mesa-García, María Dolores
Huertas, Jesús R.
author_sort Palma-Morales, Marta
collection PubMed
description Background: Diets rich in free sugars are associated with an increased risk of obesity. The aim of the present study is to estimate the intake of added sugars in the population of Spanish children and analyze the quality of the foods that contribute to this intake. Methods: An observational study was conducted to collect self-reported information on weekly food consumption in 1775 Spanish children (7–12 years). Nutrient contents were obtained from different databases. Two nutritional density indices were constructed taking into account all nutrients provided and compared with two previously described indices. Results: The average consumption of added sugars in Spanish children was 55.7 ± 1.0 g/day. The products that most contributed to added sugar intake were biscuits (13.3%), cocoa powder (11.1%), sweetened yogurts (9.9%), and dairy desserts (8.6%). Among these, dairy products had considerable nutritional value. Parents’ perception of nutritional value was not aligned with the actual nutritional value. Conclusion: The consumption of added sugars was higher than recommended. Public awareness efforts should focus on: (1) the reduction of consumption of low-nutritional quality products containing high amounts of added sugars; (2) the industrial reformulation of most consumed products to reduce sugar content and increase valuable nutrients; and (3) nutritional education.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9921831
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-99218312023-02-12 Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study Palma-Morales, Marta Mesa-García, María Dolores Huertas, Jesús R. Nutrients Article Background: Diets rich in free sugars are associated with an increased risk of obesity. The aim of the present study is to estimate the intake of added sugars in the population of Spanish children and analyze the quality of the foods that contribute to this intake. Methods: An observational study was conducted to collect self-reported information on weekly food consumption in 1775 Spanish children (7–12 years). Nutrient contents were obtained from different databases. Two nutritional density indices were constructed taking into account all nutrients provided and compared with two previously described indices. Results: The average consumption of added sugars in Spanish children was 55.7 ± 1.0 g/day. The products that most contributed to added sugar intake were biscuits (13.3%), cocoa powder (11.1%), sweetened yogurts (9.9%), and dairy desserts (8.6%). Among these, dairy products had considerable nutritional value. Parents’ perception of nutritional value was not aligned with the actual nutritional value. Conclusion: The consumption of added sugars was higher than recommended. Public awareness efforts should focus on: (1) the reduction of consumption of low-nutritional quality products containing high amounts of added sugars; (2) the industrial reformulation of most consumed products to reduce sugar content and increase valuable nutrients; and (3) nutritional education. MDPI 2023-01-21 /pmc/articles/PMC9921831/ /pubmed/36771267 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15030560 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Palma-Morales, Marta
Mesa-García, María Dolores
Huertas, Jesús R.
Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title_full Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title_fullStr Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title_full_unstemmed Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title_short Added Sugar Consumption in Spanish Children (7–12 y) and Nutrient Density of Foods Contributing to Such Consumption: An Observational Study
title_sort added sugar consumption in spanish children (7–12 y) and nutrient density of foods contributing to such consumption: an observational study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9921831/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36771267
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15030560
work_keys_str_mv AT palmamoralesmarta addedsugarconsumptioninspanishchildren712yandnutrientdensityoffoodscontributingtosuchconsumptionanobservationalstudy
AT mesagarciamariadolores addedsugarconsumptioninspanishchildren712yandnutrientdensityoffoodscontributingtosuchconsumptionanobservationalstudy
AT huertasjesusr addedsugarconsumptioninspanishchildren712yandnutrientdensityoffoodscontributingtosuchconsumptionanobservationalstudy