Question 1
Knowing the trends found from this study, do you think that the
popularization of artificial sweeteners in beverages had anything to do with
the decrease in added sugar consumption? Also, do you think that added sugars
being on nutrition facts labels will cause an increase in the amount of
artificially sweetened beverages consumed and if so, would you consider this to
be a negative side-effect?
posted by Unknown @ 4:58 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
The trend of decreased added sugar consumption is going down and I believe a lot of it has to do with education and what the consumer wants. We are seeing a trend that consumers want healthier options. Fast food chains are offering things like milk and 100% juice for children instead of SSB, options I don't remember having as a child.
With the trend of wanting healthier options, it's hard to tell if artificial sweeteners fall under that category. It almost seems like everyone is divided on whether or not artificial beverages are healthy or unhealthy. So, I feel like because there are varied opinions on artificial sweeteners from the consumer side and research side, I'm leaning towards it has not been the main reason for decreases in added sugar consumption. I would say it's contributed to it, but not necessarily been the main cause. I would stand by that it has more to do with consumer trends and nutrition education.
I believe there may be a correlation of consumer demand on less added sugar, which may drive more companies to use artificial sweeteners in more products in response to consumer demand and to keep up with competing companies. Just based on opinion, I believe people seeing the Zero Calorie on the label of artificially sweetened beverages may drive them in that direction, versus a label that says no added sugar.
With the new nutrition facts label, I think it may have a slight increase in artificial sweetener consumption, but I don't believe it will be a dramatic increase. Those that may attention to labels and are constantly making sure their products are low in fat/carbs/calories/sugar may start to choose more artificially sweetened products. But that goes with what they believe about artificially sweetened beverages. I recently listened to a webinar at my internship regarding the safety of artificial sweeteners and it was eye-opening and full of evidence to back up the amount one can consume of artificial sweeteners that is considered safe.
Tessa, I agree with you that education plays a large role in how consumer will react to this change in the nutrition label. As you mentioned, there is a large divide on artificial sweeter popularity, and it is difficult to see how future will play out.
I believe the popularization of added sugars is a potential cause for the decrease in added sugar consumption; however, I expect there are many other factors. With the push to decrease added sugar consumption and the negative press around HFCS, I believe food companies have also attempted to play a part in reducing the sugar content in widely consumed items; such as cereal and yogurt. From my observation, major food companies have attempted to reduce added sugar and/or have created alternative products tailoring to the consumers concerned about added sugar. For example, growing up, I remember the cereal aisle being completely filled with sugar-filled cereals. Today, while these cereals still exist, I do see more and more products tailoring to parents and healthful, low sugar options.
The decrease in added sugar consumption trend found in this study, I believe, is more of a reflection of nutrition education and awareness. As individuals become more aware of the health concerns related to consuming added sugars beyond recommended amounts, they are making food choices to reduce their added sugar consumption. These choices probably contributed to the popularization of artificially sweetened beverages (i.e. diet soda over regular) and expanded the market for sugar substitute products.
The addition of the added sugars category on the nutrition facts label will hopefully help individuals determine the overall quality of the foods they consume. Additionally, the new label requirements should improve the accuracy of insulin dosing for many individuals. On the whole, I feel that the new labeling, with continued nutrition education, will lead to improved consumer awareness of food choices and not necessarily an increase in artificially sweetened beverages. However, with recent food trends focusing on natural products and sweeteners, we will probably see an increase in natural sugar substitute products.
Both claims discussed in the question are likely true. In my clinical experience thus far, I am quizzed by family members of patients as to the potential harm of alterative sweeteners. On a social scale as reflected in the study with a national sample, nutrition education isn't enough to change dietary habits. Along with nutrition education from key points of influence, ease of behavior choice is necessary for consumer change. The increase of availability of alternative sweetened beverages and low no calorie beverages are a progressive step in the average American diet to decrease sugar consumption. In future years actions to decrease sugar consumption include altering food product formulas as driven through policy and consumer demand and the campaign of home based cooking nutrition education.
I would like to be optimistic and think that the decrease in added sugar consumption is due to an increase in education and awareness of the consequences of a diet high in added sugars. However, I think the decline in added sugars is due to the addition of artificial sweeteners. At first, this switch was seen as the healthier choice, but research has shown that it has detrimental effects on weight management (despite the lower calorie content). As for the upcoming addition of added sugars to the nutrition facts label, I hope that this will help increase consumer awareness. I still feel that we will need to focus our education on different types of added sugar. For example, some individuals believe that using honey is healthier than granulated sugar. However, based upon metabolic processes, our body sees all sugar equally, regardless of a "natural" label. While sweeteners like monk fruit, agave, and honey are still part of the added sugar category, they have different flavor profiles for consumers to choose from; education can help consumers make an informed decision.
I think that Rachel makes a valid point. While there is great benefit in education, there will still be people who will consume added sugars and artificially-sweetened items because they are readily available. A policy change would be an effective (albeit very challenging) method to curb consumer intake of both.
I think that the decreases in added sugars from beverages is somewhat related to non-caloric sweeteners in beverages. I would guess that consumers may find that reducing sugars from beverages is fairly easy to do by switching to non-calorically sweetened beverages. This may be a more difficult switch to make in terms of foods. Many food products containing significant amounts of added sugars are not available in a low-sugar (or non-calorically sweetened) form, or taste undesirable without the sugars. Beverages are widely available in sugar-free forms and may be more acceptable than similar food products. I think that the added sugar label will continue to cause a shift in consumer purchases of non-calorically sweetened beverages instead of sugar sweetened beverages. I do not necessarily think this is a negative side effect because it still is causing a shift away from the sugar sweetened beverages that contribute to some degree to excess caloric intake influencing weight gain, and other negative health effects like poor blood sugar regulation.
I agree with the others when they say that the popularization of artificially sweetened products may have something to do with the decrease in added sugar consumption, but I do not think it is the driving force. There has been negative media attention towards sugar consumption the past few year, which may also be a factor in the study results. It feels like we live in a much more health conscious culture now than when were children, which may also play a role in what people choose to put into their bodies. I've furthermore seen products advertised as "0g added sugar" which gives added sugar a negative connotation and may steer people towards artificially sweetened, 0 calorie option. That being said, I have also met many people who disagree with artificial sweeteners and refuse to consume them. There was a patient in the hospital this week who refused supplements for wound healing because they contained artificial sweetener. The way people react to sweetener versus added sugars seems to be varied.
I can see how new food labels featuring "added sugars" would increase the use of artificial sweeteners. Now that it will be a required nutrition fact, companies may want to advertise the "0g added sugar" claim and be more apt to steer towards artificial sweeteners. I think the controversy and mixed opinion on non-caloric sweeteners, however, will deter this trend from becoming the popular solution and added sugars will remain a larger portion of the American diet than recommended.
I agree with Holly that in an ideal world, the nutrition fact label changes would be used as an educational strategy to help reduce added sugar consumption in the American diet to <10% kcal recommendations, but I do not foresee this happening. Partially because people like their sugary foods and beverages, and partially because I don't enough people actually use and understand the nutrition facts panel.
Justine, you made a lot of good points. I'm sure that companies will use the "0 g. added sugar" claim as a marketing strategy for non-calorically sweetened items. As RDs, it will be extra important for us to be up to date on the latest research and recommendations for added sugar intake and alternative sweeteners. There will likely be new sweeteners popping up in the market in the next decades as a result of the demand for less added sugars. These are the questions clients are going to turn to us for.
The most interesting finding from the journal article, in my opinion, was the finding that absolute added sugar intake has decreased in recent years but the percentage of caloric intake from added sugars has remained above the recommended 10%. Would you consider this a step forward in terms of added sugar intake in American diets because absolute added sugar intake decreased? Or is this still an area of major health concern because added sugars are still taking the place of other more nutrient-rich foods in terms of percentage of calories?
Justine, you bring up a good point about companies using "0g added sugars" as a marketing strategy. Food companies have a lot of power in regards to nutrition education and trends, and it has a lot with how they word and market things (and money!). I think this emphasizes the importance of education and how we need to continue educating the public on sugar intake and sugar sources, including artificial sweeteners. So many people get their facts from non-reputable sources and we need to make sure the right information is to provided to the public.
Nikki,
I would be interested in seeing the webinar you described. It sounds informative. I predict trends towards food science advancements including food kcal manipulation will continue to rise. Public awareness of potential consumption risk is a vital topic.
I think the decrease in added sugar consumption came from more than one place. However, I do think that education has overall increased and made individuals more conscious of what they eat and how much they eat. To answer your question about sweeteners I do think since sweeteners have become more popular in the last years many companies are using sweeteners in replace of sugars. However, I think companies also don’t put as much sugar in their products as they used to. I think with the added sugars being on the nutrition facts we will continue to see a decline in added sugar consumption as we are now and companies will continue to find different ways to provide that flavor without all the added sugars.
Noel,
I think you make a good point about the cereals tailoring parents healthy choices and I think they also have changed a lot to meet requirements of schools which is where we could see a decrease in total added sugar consumption. This is why I think that there is more than one factor leading to the decrease in added sugar consumption.
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