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Healthy Eating Guidelines
Sugars Consumption
Actual intakes of added sugars in Canada are not known because
no national nutrition survey data exist. It is estimated, however,
that average intakes of all added sugars is about 60 g per person
per day, or about 12-13% of total daily energy. 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.
Estimates of Added Sugars
Consumption in Canada
This article reviews current estimates of “actual intakes”
of added sugars in Canada and estimates of added sugars “available
for consumption” (also known as disappearance or availability).
Both popular and scientific articles often incorrectly report availability
data as actual intake. In fact, availability substantially overestimates
actual intake because it represents the total amount available in
the food supply, not accounting for sizable losses that occur at
retail and in households during cooking, left on plates, or discarded.
| Terminology |
| Sugar |
Common refined sugar, which consists of pure sucrose. |
| Sugars |
All monosaccharides (e.g., glucose, fructose) and disaccharides
(e.g., sucrose, lactose) in foods (e.g., milk, fruit and vegetables)
or added to foods (e.g., white sugar, brown sugar, honey, syrups). |
| Added sugars |
The sugars added to foods, including white sugar, brown sugar,
and sugars from honey, maple syrup, and corn sweeteners (dextrose,
glucose syrup, and high fructose corn syrup). |
Food available for consumption
(also known as disappearance or availability) |
Data on the supply of food commodities, not accounting for
losses in stores, households, private institutions or restaurants.
Statistics Canada publishes this type of data.
Availability = (beginning stocks + production + imports) minus
(exports + manufacturing uses + feed + storage or processing
waste + ending stocks). |
| Actual Intake |
Estimates of actual food intake or “food consumed”
derived from nutrition surveys (which ask consumers about their
food intake) or by subtracting an estimate of retail and house
hold losses from “food available for consumption”. |
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Actual Intakes of Added Sugars in Canada
Data from national nutrition surveys or an accurate estimate of
all food losses are required to estimate actual intakes of added
sugars (keeping in mind that nutrition surveys are limited by the
accuracy of self-reported data). Unfortunately, no accurate estimate
of food losses is available in Canada and neither of the two national
Canadian surveys, conducted in 1970 and 2004, include estimates
of “added sugars” intake because no adequate database
of “added sugars” content of foods is available.
Given the lack of Canadian data, estimated intakes in Canada can
be derived from U.S. nutrition surveys which do include added sugars
data. U.S. survey and disappearance data can be used to derive the
proportion of added sugars wasted or not eaten. Assuming the proportion
is the same in Canada, this percentage can be applied to Canadian
disappearance data (see page 2) to estimate actual intakes of “added
sugars” in Canada. Based on that assumption, Table 1 shows
estimates of total “added sugars” intake in Canada from
1994 to 2004 in grams/person/day and as a
percentage of total daily calories (added sugars includes sugars
from refined sugar, maple syrup, honey, high-fructose
corn syrup, glucose syrup, and dextrose).
| Table 1 |
| Added Sugars |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| Average daily intake (g/person)* |
63.3 |
63.2 |
64.0 |
65.5 |
67.0 |
66.0 |
65.7 |
65.2 |
65.7 |
64.1 |
63.5 |
| Percent of total daily calories* |
12.7 |
12.6 |
12.8 |
13.1 |
13.4 |
13.2 |
13.1 |
13.0 |
13.1 |
12.8 |
12.7 |
|
These data suggest that average intakes of “added sugars”
in Canada are relatively stable and currently contribute approximately
13% of daily calories, which is considered a moderate amount. The
suggested maximum intake of added sugars for individuals in Canada
and the U.S. is 25% of daily energy.4
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Added Sugars Available for Consumption in Canada
Statistics Canada publishes data on “food available for consumption”
(or availability) twice per year, including data for refined sugar
(includes white and brown sugars made from sugar cane or sugar beets).2
These data reflect the total amount entering
the market, regardless of final use. This provides a basis for examining
food consumption changes over time (trends) without the
problems implicit in consumer survey data or wastage estimates.
If waste and other losses are relatively constant over time, these
data provide a measure of changes in consumption patterns that is
independent of and complements nutrition survey data.
Refined Sugar
FIGURE 1
Statistics Canada data for refined sugar (sucrose), shown in Figure
1, indicates that availability has been decreasing since the 1960s.2 These data include revisions by Statistics Canada from previously
published data to correct certain methodological errors and to account
for the large growth in exports of sugar in food products that are
not consumed in Canada. Refined sugar availability decreased by
18% from 38.0 to 31.3 kg/person/year between 1994 and 2006
(Figure
1).
Total Added Sugars
Statistics Canada does not publish data on total “added sugars”
because data are not available for corn sweeteners (i.e., dextrose,
glucose syrup, and high-fructose corn syrup). However, estimates
have been made based on soft drink availability, which is the major
source of these sweeteners, and estimates of use in other products.
Statistics Canada data show that soft drink availability has remained
stable over the past decade.2 Soft drink availability for
both diet and regular soft drinks combined is shown in Figure
2 indicating this flat trend. Although the availability data
does not distinguish between diet and regular soft drinks,
data on the contribution of soft drink calories (i.e., from
regular soft drinks) as a percentage of the total food supply
shows a similar trend (Table 2).2
FIGURE 2
| Table 2 |
Soft
Drinks as a Percentage of Total Calories Available in
the Canadian Food Supply |
| 1994 |
3.78% |
| 1995 |
3.80% |
| 1996 |
3.77% |
| 1997 |
3.74% |
| 1998 |
3.84% |
| 1999 |
3.79% |
| 2000 |
3.66% |
| 2001 |
3.65% |
| 2002 |
3.62% |
| 2003 |
3.57% |
| 2004 |
3.48% |
| 2005 |
Not available |
| |
|
Consistent with these data,
an estimate of the availability
of all “added sugars”
shows that it has been relatively
stable from 1994 to
2006 (Figure 3).
FIGURE 3
Note: “Added sugars” includes sugars from refined sugar, maple syrup, honey, high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, and dextrose.
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References
- US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service. Pyramid
servings intakes by U.S. children and adults: 1994-96, 1998. 2000
- Statistics Canada. Food Statistics, 2007
- US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Food consumption
(per capita) data system, 2005
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes: energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005.
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