Nature Communications (Oct 2023)

Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries

  • Laura Lara-Castor,
  • Renata Micha,
  • Frederick Cudhea,
  • Victoria Miller,
  • Peilin Shi,
  • Jianyi Zhang,
  • Julia R. Sharib,
  • Josh Erndt-Marino,
  • Sean B. Cash,
  • Dariush Mozaffarian,
  • Global Dietary Database

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41269-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 19

Abstract

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Abstract Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequities. For most nations, recent estimates and trends of intake are not available; nor variation by education or urbanicity. We investigated SSB intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries, stratified subnationally by age, sex, education, and rural/urban residence, using data from the Global Dietary Database. In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 2.7 (8 oz = 248 grams) servings/week (95% UI 2.5-2.9) (range: 0.7 (0.5-1.1) in South Asia to 7.8 (7.1-8.6) in Latin America/Caribbean). Intakes were higher in male vs. female, younger vs. older, more vs. less educated, and urban vs. rural adults. Variations by education and urbanicity were largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2018, SSB intakes increased by +0.37 (+0.29, +0.47), with the largest increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. These findings inform intervention, surveillance, and policy actions worldwide, highlighting the growing problem of SSBs for public health in Sub-Saharan Africa.