Sugar's Impact on Health

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Sugar's Impact on Health

Posted August 30, 2003

 

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The study findings, which are published by the World Health

Organization (WHO), cover both rural and urban populations in South

Africa, and add to the growing body of global evidence on the

influence of diet on chronic disease.

 

The research - carried out by the country's Medical Research Council

and the University of the Western Cape - examined the effect of

added sugars on a population experiencing both under-nutrition and

over-nutrition. It was compiled as part of an effort by the South

African health department to advise on sugar consumption in dietary

guidelines.

 

The study indicated that among adolescents and adults, the

percentage consumption of added sugars is over twice as high in

urban populations as it is in rural ones - 12.3 per cent compared to

5.9 per cent of total energy intake.

 

The review also compared sugar consumption in malnourished

populations of children to that of well-nourished populations. And

found that in many cases sugar displaces protein consumption and

significantly dilutes iron, zinc and thiamine intake. This suggests

that the diets of undernourished children would not be improved by

the addition of sugar-rich foods, the researchers said.

 

Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that added sugars

should form no more than 6-10 per cent of total dietary intake. They

suggest that increasing problems with dental caries and obesity

alone justify the new guideline. It reports that total tooth loss in

adult populations in South Africa reaches up to 35 per cent, while

obesity affects nearly 20 per cent of adults and 30 per cent of

black women. Dr Pekka Puska, director of non-communicable disease

prevention and health promotion at WHO, commented, " This paper gives

an important perspective on the influence of sugar on diet and

nutrition in the developing world, in a country where both under-

nutrition and over-nutrition co-exist.

 

" This information strengthens the ability of the public health

community to respond to the epidemic of diet-related chronic

disease. "

 

Source: Bulletin of the World Health Organization

 

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August 29, 2003