ScienceDaily posted an article this week about a study presented at the American Heart Association’s recent meeting. The study examined the relationship between added sugars (sugars and syrups added to foods during processing, preparation, or at the table) and weight gain. Researchers reviewed added sugars intake and body weight patterns over 27 years. They used data collected in the Minnesota Heart Survey, which was a study of adults ages 25 to 74, living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. According to the article, the heart survey includes six surveys looking at diet, height and weight. The surveys were conducted in 1980-1982, 1985-1987, 1990-1992, 1995-1997, 2000-2002 and 2007-2009.
The researchers found that overall, added sugars consumption increased along with Body Mass Index (BMI) for both men and women. Added sugars consumption leveled off between 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 and the average BMI leveled off in women, which paralleled their added sugars intake. BMI in men, however, continued to rise, while calories consumed from added sugars dropped by 10.5 percent from the 200-02 survey to the 2007-2009 survey.
Overall, men’s consumption of added sugars increased more than women, with 15.3 percent of their daily calories coming from added sugars in 2007-2009. This was a hefty 37.8 increase from the 1980-1982 time period. Also of note, younger adults on average consumed more added sugar than older adults.
Huifen Wang, M.S., who is a lead author of the study, concluded that “Added sugars consumption increased over 20 years. Although it declined slightly after 2000-02, the consumption of added sugars remained high among the Minnesota residents studied. Although other lifestyle factors should be considered as an explanation for the upward trend of BMI, public health efforts should advise limiting added sugar intake.”
You can view ScienceDaily’s article here.
Nutrition & Lifestyle