How much free sugar do Australians consume? Findings from a national survey.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the characteristics of Australian adults exceeding the World Health Organization's free sugar (FS) intake recommendations of <10% and compare the sources of FS among those exceeding (high FS consumers) and complying (low FS consumers) with the recommendations.


METHOD
Nationally weighted data from the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011-12 was used to describe the proportions of FS consumption and sources of FS among adults aged ≥18 years (n=9,435) across demographic, socioeconomic and health behavioural subgroups. Six categories of food groups likely to contain FS were generated and analysed.


RESULTS
Almost half of all adults (47%) were high FS consumers. More than one-third of adults in each demographic, socioeconomic and health behaviour subgroup were high FS consumers. Of the food groups containing FS, beverages contributed the most FS (37%), particularly for young adults (48%). High FS consumers obtained twice as much FS from beverages (42%) than low FS consumers (21%). A reverse age gradient was observed for the FS sourced from beverages.


CONCLUSIONS
Almost half the Australians surveyed exceeded the FS intake recommendations. Sugary beverages were the largest source of FS, with young adults being the highest consumers. Implications for public health: Whole population strategies targeting beverages could possibly reduce Australia's high sugar intake.
['Gupta|Adyya|A|', 'Smithers|Lisa G|LG|', 'Braunack-Mayer|Annette|A|', 'Harford|Jane|J|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D001315:Australia D001628:Beverages D002149:Energy Intake D005260:Female D005502:Food D015438:Health Behavior D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009749:Nutrition Surveys D044469:Racial Groups D000073893:Sugars D055815:Young Adult
free sugar adults beverage Australia population survey