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  • Original Article
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Carbohydrates, glycemic index and diabetes mellitus

Factors associated with sugar intake and sugar sources in European children from 1 to 8 years of age

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 71, pages 25–32 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The World Health Organization recommends to limit intake of free sugars to 5% of total energy per day because of the great impact of high sugar intake on body fat deposition, adiposity and dental caries. However, little data exist about total intake and sources of sugar in European children. Therefore, this paper aims to describe sugar intake and dietary sugar sources and associated factors.

Subjects/Methods:

Three-day weighed dietary records were obtained at eight time points from children 1 to 8 years of age (n=995) in five European countries. Food items were classified into subgroups according to food composition. Linear mixed models were used to examine associated factors.

Results:

Total sugar intake increased from 65 g/day (30.0% of energy intake (E%)) at 12 months of age to 83 g/day (20.9 E%) at 96 months of age. Around 80% of children’s sugar intake was derived from the following sources: milk and dairy products, fruits and fruit products, confectionary and sugar sweetened beverages (SSB). Total sugar intake and dietary sugar sources varied significantly by country of residence. Boys had a significantly (P=0.003) higher total sugar consumption than girls.

SSB consumption was significantly higher in children from young mothers while sugar intake from fruit products was lower in children from mothers with lower educational status and those with higher birth order.

Conclusions:

Sugar intake in our population was lower than in other studies. Total sugar intake was associated with country of residence and gender, while dietary sugar sources varied by country of residence, maternal age, education and birth order.

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Acknowledgements

The studies reported herein have been carried out with partial financial support from the Commission of the European Community, specific RTD Programme ‘Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources’, within the 5th Framework Programme, research grants no. QLRT-2001-00389 and QLK1-CT-2002-30582, and the 6th Framework Programme, contract no. 007036 and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), project EarlyNutrition under grant agreement no. 289346.

Disclaimer

This manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission and in no way anticipates the future policy in this area.

Author information

Author notes

  1. I Pawellek and V Grote: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr von Hauner Children’s Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    I Pawellek, V Grote, M Theurich & B Koletzko

  2. Pediatrics Research Unit, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, IISPV, Reus, Spain

    R Closa-Monasterolo

  3. Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Eating Disorders, Children’s Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland

    A Stolarczyk

  4. Department of Pediatrics, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milano, Italy

    E Verduci

  5. Department of Paediatrics and NICU, CHC St Vincent, Liège-Rocourt, Belgium

    A Xhonneux

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  1. I Pawellek
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  8. B Koletzko
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European Childhood Obesity Trial Study Group

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Correspondence to B Koletzko.

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Pawellek, I., Grote, V., Theurich, M. et al. Factors associated with sugar intake and sugar sources in European children from 1 to 8 years of age. Eur J Clin Nutr 71, 25–32 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.206

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.206

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