ResearchCommentaryHow Sweet It Is: Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Risk in Childhood
Section snippets
Dietary Added Sugars and Obesity
Although cardiologists have long been concerned about dietary fat, concern about dietary added sugars dates from the onset of the obesity epidemic. Epidemiologic studies show that from 1970 to 2000 in adults, the prevalence of obesity tripled while intake of energy from fat significantly decreased. During roughly that same time period, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages increased dramatically. In children and adolescents, analysis of the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by
Development of Taste Preferences
Taste preference is a powerful contributor to high intake of sugars, including sugar-sweetened beverages. The development of food preferences in childhood is important because early preference patterns have long-term influence on dietary intake later in life (17). Children's food preferences develop from a complex interplay of innate, familial, and environmental factors. There are innate preferences for sweet tastes demonstrated from early infancy (18). High concentrations of glucose have even
Added Sugars and Cardiovascular Risk
High added sugar consumption in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, both independently and through the development of obesity. In terms of obesity, a prevailing theory is that liquid energy is associated with decreased satiety and incomplete compensatory reduction in subsequent energy intake (35, 36, 37). Obesity is strongly associated with the development of hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, and the metabolic
Interventions to Lower Intake of Added Sugars
A small number of interventions have directly targeted consumption of added sugars with a focus on sugar-sweetened beverages in children and adolescents. A trial of 103 adolescents who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages randomly assigned subjects to non–energy-containing beverage consumption via home delivery vs control (50). Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption decreased 82% in the intervention group with no change in controls. Change in BMI was 0.07±0.14 for the intervention group
Conclusions
The article by Reedy and Krebs-Smith in this issue of the Journal (8) reports high consumption of empty calories in contemporary American children with added sugars as a major contributor in that category. High added sugar consumption, which occurs most commonly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, is associated with a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, both independently and through the development of obesity. Multiple studies have shown that presence of these risk factors in
R.-E. W. Kavey is a professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.
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Cited by (51)
Using digital imagery to quantify students’ added sugar intake at lunch in Title I schools with universal free meals
2020, Preventive Medicine ReportsCitation Excerpt :The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends <10% of daily calories come from added sugars (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015); yet, many children exceed this recommendation (Ervin et al., 2012). Reducing children’s added sugar intake is imperative given the evidence linking added sugar intake, obesity, and cardiometabolic disease risk (Kavey, 2010; Keller and Bucher Della Torre, 2015; Seferidi et al., 2018; Vos et al., 2017). Low-income, racial/ethnic minority populations are of particular concern as they tend to have poorer dietary quality and are at greater risk for developing chronic diseases (Datar and Chung, 2015; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services and Office of Research, Nutrition and Analysis, 2008; Ogden et al., 2010; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020).
Community resilience in a rural food system: documenting pathways to nutrition solutions
2020, Public HealthCitation Excerpt :Obesity rates are generally higher in rural areas relative to urban areas.29 This could be due, in part, to poorer intake of fiber and a higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages which are two behaviors tied to poor health outcomes.11,30 Nutrition security is key to preventing childhood obesity and consequently adult obesity, which includes providing healthy foods and minimization of competition from less healthy foods, which is often not the case in rural, low-income communities.31
Cross-modal interactions as a strategy for sugar reduction in products targeted at children: Case study with vanilla milk desserts
2020, Food Research InternationalLactitol: Production, properties, and applications
2019, Trends in Food Science and TechnologyCitation Excerpt :The alarming prevalence of obesity has been attributed to a variety of socio-economic factors including eating behavior, sedentary lifestyle, genetics, and dietary patterns (Story, Kaphingst, Robinson-O'Brien, & Glanz, 2008). Concerns about sugar intake in human health dates from the 1970s where the onset of the obesity epidemic has been correlated with the sugar consumption (Kavey, 2010). Epidemiological studies have closely associated with sugar intake several chronic diseases through the development of obesity (Kavey, 2010; Reedy & Krebs-Smith, 2010).
Sugar reduction in probiotic chocolate-flavored milk: Impact on dynamic sensory profile and liking
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R.-E. W. Kavey is a professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.