CDC Report Highlights Sugar Consumption of Kids and Adolescents
A recent data brief issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) has suggested that children and adolescents consume more added
sugar calories from food as opposed to beverages. According to the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which relied on data from the National
Health and Examination Survey, “Boys consumed more calories per day from
added sugars than girls,” with caloric intake from added sugars increasing
linearly with age for both boys and girls. In particular, NCHS reported that
(i) pre-school aged boys and girls (2-5 years) consumed 13.5 percent and
13.1 percent of their calories from added sugars, respectively; (ii) school-age
boys and girls (6-11 years) consumed 16.6 percent and 15.7 percent of their
calories from added sugars, respectively; and (iii) adolescent boys and girls
(12-19 years) consumed 17.5 percent and 16.6 percent of their calories from
added sugars, respectively. NCHS also noted some differences in the percent
of calories consumed from added sugars by race and ethnicity, but found “no
significant difference in the percent of total calories from added sugars based
on poverty income ratio either for boys or girls.”
As NCHS explained, however, its findings evidently challenge previous
research claiming “that sodas are the single leading food source of added
sugars intakes among children, adolescents and adults.” Instead, the survey
data apparently indicated that not only were more added sugars consumed
“at home rather than away from home for both beverages and foods,” but that
“[59] percent of added sugars calories came from foods compared with 41
[percent] that came from beverages.”
“A substantial percentage of calories in the diets of children and adolescents
between 2005 and 2008 came from added sugars,” concludes the NCHS
report, which ultimately backs the 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommendation
to reduce the consumption of added sugars regardless of their source. “This
strategy could play an important role in reducing the high prevalence of
obesity in the United States without compromising adequate nutrition.”
