Public urged to lower sugar intake

CEBU, Philippines - With the entrance of the New Year, the National Nutrition Council is calling on the public to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened foods and beverages to lower the risk of overweight and obesity and development of non-communicable diseases.

In a statement, NNC said sugar-sweetened foods and beverages like commercially available cookies, granola bars, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and soft drinks typically contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a liquid sweetener used to replace common table sugar in food manufacturing.

NNC said HFCS has been used extensively by the food industry since the 1960s because of its practicality and availability.

According to the World Health Organization, sugar-sweetened food and beverages can increase overall energy intake and may reduce consumption of food containing more nutritionally adequate calories that leads to unhealthy diet and weight gain.

Based on results of the 2013 National Nutrition Survey, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased steadily in the last two decades.

Among adults, the prevalence almost doubled from 16.6 percent in 1993 to 31.1 percent in 2013. Among preschool children, the prevalence was below 2.0 percent from 1989 to 1998 but increased gradually to 4.9 percent in 2013.

“Overweight and obesity is strongly associated with having NCDs particularly type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and cancer,” the statement reads.

WHO has recommended reduced free sugars intake throughout one’s lifetime to less than 10 percent of total energy intake for the day.

The NNC encourages food manufacturers to minimize the use of HFCS and to include proper nutrition label for the information of consumers.

NNC also advocates for the enactment of a legislation to increase taxes of sugar-sweetened beverages to help curb excessive consumption.  (FREEMAN)