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HEALTH PROFESSIONALS |
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| Healthy Eating Guidelines Sugars Consumption “Added sugars” include all caloric sweetening agents added to foods, i.e., sugar, corn sweeteners, maple syrup and honey. Estimates of added sugars intake in Canada are about 51-53 g per person per day, or about 10-13% of total daily energy intake. This is considered a moderate amount, as the Dietary Reference Intakes for Canada and the US suggest a maximal intake of 25% of energy from added sugars (1). Current estimates of added sugars intake from nutrition survey data (Canadian Community Health Survey) and Statistics Canada availability data are explored below. For a more detailed explanation see Estimated Intakes of Added Sugars in Canada and Relationship to Trends in Body Weight.
Estimated Intakes of Added Sugars from Nutrition Survey Data In 2004, the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collected 24-hour dietary recall data on 35,000 Canadians (2). The survey provides self-reported data on food intakes of carbohydrate and total sugars but not added sugars. This is because added sugars are not chemically distinct from naturally occurring sugars, so there is no laboratory test capable of measuring the added sugars content of foods. Although dietary surveys cannot provide a direct measure of “added sugars” intakes, researchers have estimated added sugars based on total sugars intake. The only comprehensive analysis of naturally occurring and added sugars intakes undertaken in North America using nutrition survey data reported added sugars to account for approximately 50% of total sugars intake (3). Among Canadian adults, the CCHS reported total sugars to contribute approximately 20% of total energy intake (Table 1). Added sugars intake among Canadian adults can then be estimated to contribute an average of 10% of total energy, which is considered a moderate amount. The suggested maximum intake of added sugars for individuals in Canada is 25% of daily energy (1).
*Based on estimation that added sugars comprise approximately half of total sugars (3). Until another national survey is conducted in Canada, trends in added sugars consumption are limited to estimates from Statistics Canada availability data. Added Sugars Available for Consumption in Canada Availability data (also known as disappearance data) reflect the total amount of a food or commodity entering the market, regardless of its final use. This provides a basis for examining consumption trends over time. Statistics Canada publishes annual availability data on ‘sugars and syrups’. The ‘sugars and syrups’ category includes data for refined sugar1, honey and maple sugars, but does not include corn sweeteners (4). Both popular and scientific articles often incorrectly report availability data as actual intake data. Availability data is useful to report trends, but overestimates actual intakes because it does not account for sizable losses that occur during distribution, storage, preparation and consumption (e.g. food discarded or spoiled). To correct for these losses, Statistics Canada applies a waste adjustment factor of approximately 30% to estimate consumption. Figures 1, 2 and 3 below show Statistics Canada data for both availability and estimated consumption (using the 30% adjustment factor). 1 Includes all white, brown and specialty sugars and sugar syrups made from sugar cane or sugar beets Sugars and Syrups Availability According to Statistics Canada data, estimated consumption of sugars and syrups in Canada has also been decreasing over the past 4 decades (Figure 1). These data include refined sugar, honey and maple sugars, but do not include corn sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), glucose syrup, and dextrose.
Energy Available from Sugars and Syrups The per cent total energy available from sugars and syrups declined from about 14% in 1976 to 10% in 1998 and has remained relatively stable over the past decade (Figure 2). The overall decline in ‘sugars and syrups’ availability up to 1998, in part reflects the replacement of liquid sugar by HFCS in sweetened beverages. The transition from liquid sugar to HFCS, which started in the 1970s, was gradual and depended on the relative prices of the two sweetening agents. Since the late 1990s, sugar has been fully replaced by HFCS in almost all sweetened beverages in Canada, so there is much less annual variability (Figure 1).
Soft Drinks Availability Soft drink availability in Canada increased from 1980 to 1998 but has declined over the past decade (4). The trend in the US is very similar; however soft drink consumption in the US is approximately double that in Canada (Figure 3). Soft drink availability for both diet and regular soft drinks is combined in Figure 3. Statistics Canada data on the contribution of soft drinks to total energy availability in the food supply shows a similar downward trend (Table 2) (4). The contribution of soft drinks to total energy availability is relatively small (~3% total caloric intake) and is likely overestimated as all soft drinks are considered caloric in these estimates.
Estimated Energy Available from ‘Added Sugars’ Statistics Canada does not publish data on total “added sugars” because data are not available for corn sweeteners (namely HFCS) as this is proprietary information. Because the main use of HFCS is to sweeten caloric beverages, soft drink data provide an indirect estimate of HFCS availability and trends. Combining Statistics Canada consumption data for percent total energy from sugars and syrups (10%) with percent total energy from soft drinks (3%), total added sugars can be estimated to contribute approximately 13% of total calories in the Canadian diet (Table 3).
Adjustment Factor for Estimating Consumption Statistics Canada’s adjustment factor for estimating consumption from availability data is based on a static model developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service in the 1970s and does not reflect the progressive increase in food waste over the past 40 years. Food waste is now estimated at approximately 40% (5). When a 40% food loss estimate is deducted from Canadian availability data, added ‘sugars and syrups’ consumption is estimated to be 51 g/day (Table 4).
i Sugars and syrups as defined by Statistics Canada (includes sugar, honey and maple sugars, and excludes corn sweeteners), Food Statistics 2011. Summary The contribution of added sugars to total energy intake can only be estimated from both availability data (2) and nutrition survey data (5). These sources provide similar estimates of added sugars intake, averaging approximately 51 – 53 g/day or 10-13% of total daily Calories among Canadians.
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Canadian Sugar Institute
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Tel: 416-368-8091 - Fax: 416-368-6426 | info@sugar.ca
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