Dietary Sugar Intake and Its Association with Obesity in Children and Adolescents
Emmanuella Magriplis,
George Michas,
Evgenia Petridi,
George P. Chrousos,
Eleftheria Roma,
Vassiliki Benetou,
Nikos Cholopoulos,
Renata Micha,
Demosthenes Panagiotakos,
Antonis Zampelas
Affiliations
Emmanuella Magriplis
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
George Michas
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Evgenia Petridi
Department of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Makedonitisas Avenue, Nicosia CY1700, Cyprus
George P. Chrousos
First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Eleftheria Roma
First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Vassiliki Benetou
Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115-27 Athens, Greece
Nikos Cholopoulos
Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Renata Micha
Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Volos, Greece
Demosthenes Panagiotakos
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, Athens, Eleftheriou Venizelou 70, 176 76 Athens, Greece
Antonis Zampelas
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Sugar intake has been associated with increased prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity; however, results remain controversial. The aim of this study was to examine the probability of overweight/obesity with higher sugar intakes, accounting for other dietary intakes. Data from 1165 children and adolescents aged ≥2–18 years (66.8% males) enrolled in the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS) were used; specifically, 781 children aged 2–11 years and 384 adolescents 12–18 years. Total and added sugar intake were assessed using two 24 h recalls (24 hR). Foods were categorized into specific food groups to evaluate the main foods contributing to intakes. A significant proportion of children (18.7%) and adolescents (24.5%) exceeded the recommended cut-off of 10% of total energy intake from added sugars. Sweets (29.8%) and processed/refined grains and cereals (19.1%) were the main sources of added sugars in both age groups, while in adolescents, the third main contributor was sugar-sweetened beverages (20.6%). Being overweight or obese was 2.57 (p = 0.002) and 1.77 (p = 0.047) times more likely for intakes ≥10% of total energy from added sugars compared to less <10%, when accounting for food groups and macronutrient intakes, respectively. The predicted probability of becoming obese was also significant with higher total and added-sugar consumption. We conclude that high consumption of added sugars increased the probability for overweight/obesity among youth, irrespectively of other dietary or macronutrient intakes.
