An Online Survey on Consumer Knowledge and Understanding of Added Sugars

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 37
• Main Authors: Tierney, Mary, Gallagher, Alison M, Giotis, Efstathios S, Pentieva, Kristina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05.01.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: added sugars; Adult; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Health Information; Consumers; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Caries - etiology; Dental Caries - prevention & control; Diet, Carbohydrate Loading - adverse effects; Diet, Carbohydrate-Restricted; Female; Food; Food Labeling; food product nutrition panels; Guidelines; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health risks; Humans; Internet; Labels; Male; Non-Nutritive Sweeteners - adverse effects; Northern Ireland - epidemiology; Nutrition; Nutrition Policy; Nutrition Surveys; Nutritive Sweeteners - adverse effects; obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - prevention & control; Patient Compliance; Public health; Risk; Sugar; United Kingdom - epidemiology; World Health Organisation; World Health Organization; World Health Organisation; added sugars; obesity; food product nutrition panels
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu9010037

Evidence of an association between added sugars (AS) and the risk of obesity has triggered public health bodies to develop strategies enabling consumers to manage their AS intake. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has strongly recommended a reduction of free sugars to 10% of total dietary energy (TE) and conditionally recommended a reduction to 5% TE to achieve health benefits. Despite food labelling being a policy tool of choice in many countries, there is no consensus on the mandatory addition of AS to the nutrition panel of food labels. An online survey was conducted to explore consumer ability to identify AS on food labels and to investigate consumer awareness of the WHO guidelines in relation to sugar intakes. The questionnaire was tested for participant comprehension using face-to-face interviews prior to conducting the online study. The online survey was conducted in Northern Ireland during May 2015 and was completed by a convenient sample of 445 subjects. Results showed that just 4% of respondents correctly classified 10 or more ingredients from a presented list of 13 items, while 65% of participants were unaware of the WHO guidelines for sugar intake. It may be timely to reopen dialogue on inclusion of AS on food product nutrition panels.