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2003-11-20
In the United States, UNC scientists
found increasing consumption of beverages, including soft
drinks
and sugared fruit drinks, was a major contributor to the burgeoning
use of such sweeteners, which nutritionists believe contribute
to unhealthy obesity. Obesity boosts the risk of heart disease,
stroke, diabetes and other illnesses.
A report on the study
appears in the November issue of Obesity Research, a professional
journal published by the North American Association for the
Study of Obesity. Authors are Dr. Barry Popkin, professor of
nutrition at the UNC schools of public health and medicine
and a fellow at the Carolina Population Center, and Samara
Joy Nielsen, a nutrition doctoral student.
"Over the past several
years, a number of studies have emerged that indicated how
soft drink and fruit drink intake are adversely linked with
adolescent and adult weight gain in the United States and Europe," Popkin
said. "Our new study shows that the large increase in added
sugar is not restricted to these few very high-income countries
but is a worldwide phenomenon.
"Also, until now, no food-related
research has shown specifically which foods are responsible
for the large increases in added sugar in the United States,
he said.
"This study clearly documents for this country that
the increase in added sugar intake between 1977 and 1996 is
caused mainly by soft drinks and fruit drinks," Popkin said. "These
calorically sweetened beverages account for 66 calories out
of the total per capita caloric increase of 83 calories over
this period, or close to 80 percent of the increase in caloric
intake from these sweeteners.
"Nielsen and Popkin analyzed
food data from 103 countries in 1962 and 127 countries in 2000,
along with information about urbanization and gross national
income per capita. They also evaluated three nationally representative
U.S. Department of Agriculture surveys from 1977 to 1978, 1988
to 1991 and from 1992 to 1996 plus 1998 and looked how specific
foods contributed to growth in caloric sweetener intake. The
average diet worldwide increased by 74 calories a day, they
found. Urbanization and income growth contributed to 82 percent
of the change. Between 1962 and 2000, the caloric intake of
sugar increased considerably more for lower- and middle-income
countries than for the highest-income countries.
"We also found
that U.S. data showed an 83 calorie-per-day increase in caloric
sweeteners consumed, a 22 percent jump in the proportion of
energy people got from these sweeteners," he said.
Nielsen
and Popkin used the term "caloric sweeteners" rather than added
sugar because of the wide range of non-sugar products now in
use. One major example is high fructose corn syrup since manufacturers
add that rather than sugar to essentially all non-diet soft
drinks. Other sweeteners include maple products, caramel, artificial
and natural honey, maltose, glucose, dextrose and lactose.
"When
the results of this study are coupled with earlier studies,
we can clearly see the pronounced shift in the world's diet
toward increased consumption of caloric sweeteners and away
from higher-fiber foods," the two wrote. "Thus, we are increasingly
consuming foods that provide energy but few other nutrients.
Many scholars assert that the reduction in milk consumption
in the United States is linked with the increase in intake
of these calorically sweetened beverages.
"Because of limited
research, they said, the implications of these dietary shifts
on human health are unclear, and there is still little understanding
of replacement issues.
"It is clear, however, that consuming
excessive soft drinks or other high-sugar, low-nutrient foods
will either add calories or reduce nutrient intakes," Popkin
and Nielsen wrote.
This story has been adapted from a news release
issued by University Of North
Carolina At Chapel Hill.
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