
Intakes and dietary sources of sugars
The amount of total, added and free sugars consumed in diets across the globe varies by country (1). The greatest contributors to total, added and free sugars intakes also varies by region and country. In industrialized countries, beverages, cereal products including cakes and biscuits, and confectionery and chocolates, make the most significant contribution to added sugars intake (2, 3).
There has been a considerable amount of research on the possible relationship between consuming sugars and various health outcomes. Understanding the amount of sugars consumed in diets across the globe can help to put this research into context. It can also be useful for tracking trends in intakes over time.
What are the recommendations for sugar intake?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (moderate evidence for health), which is equivalent to around 50 g (or about 12 level teaspoons), for an adult of healthy body weight consuming about 2000 calories per day. WHO suggests that reducing free sugars intake to below 5% of total energy intake per day may have additional benefits (low evidence). Reducing free sugars to less than 5% of total energy intake is a "conditional" recommendation, issued when the evidence around the benefits and risks of an intervention are less certain. Few studies have been undertaken in populations with a low sugars intake. Individual countries often have their own dietary recommendations for sugars intake.
What are dietary intake measurements?
Dietary intake measurements are estimates of the foods and drinks, and energy and nutrients, that are consumed by a particular population group of interest.
Information on foods and drinks consumed by a population group, over a defined period of time, is collected using a chosen dietary assessment method (see “How is this information collected?”).
Per capita availability data vs. dietary intake data
Dietary intake data are often the most accurate data available when assessing the diet and nutrient intake of a population. Dietary intake data are collected from individuals through one-on-one interviews/surveys/apps (reflecting the actual foods and drinks consumed by each person). Per capita availability data (or apparent consumption data, disappearance data, or sales data) estimates on average what is available to consume or purchased across a population group.
Per capita availability data do not accurately take into account food wastage, storage and purchases across a country/region border. It does not measure what is actually consumed. The distribution of food items consumed across a country/region and within different population groups (e.g., children, males, lower socioeconomic groups) is also unknown. As such, dietary intake data is a more suitable source of accurate and reliable information for estimating nutrient intakes.