National goal to cut down on added sugars by 2030 is achievable, study suggests

Key takeaways:

• A Healthy People 2030 goal is to limit added sugars to 11.5% of total daily calories for people aged 2 years and older.
• Americans need modest reductions — 14 to 57 calories per day — to meet that goal.

Americans can achieve the Healthy People 2030 added sugars target with modest reductions in added sugars, according to the results of a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Ellen W. Stowe, PhD, MPH, a public health research and surveillance ORISE fellow with the CDC, and colleagues wrote that many Americans currently exceed the dietary recommendations for added sugars.

The FDA definition of added sugars includes those added during processing like sucrose or dextrose, sugars found in syrups and honey, sugars from concentrated vegetable and fruit juices and foods packaged as sweeteners like table sugar.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet bakery products, candy, other desserts and ready-to-eat cereals are top sources of added sugars in the diets of children and adults in the U.S.,” the researchers wrote. “Diets high in added sugars can contribute to adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, dental caries, weight gain/obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

Healthy People 2030 set a population target of 11.5% of calories from added sugars for people aged 2 years and older, so the researchers conducted the study to describe the reductions needed to hit that target in four populations:

• the general population in the U.S.;
• people who currently exceed the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendation for added sugars (those whose added sugar intake represents at least 10% of the calories they consume per day);
• high consumers of added sugars (those whose added sugar intake is at least 15% of the calories they consume per day); and
• a combination of those consuming 10% to less than 15% of calories from added sugars and those consuming 15% or more calories from added sugars, requiring a “hybrid approach.”

Stowe and colleagues used data from 15,038 participants of the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that, with modest reductions in added sugars intake, ranging from 14 to 57 calories/day depending on the approach, the Healthy People 2030 added sugars target is achievable.

More specifically, they wrote that, before applying any of the four approaches, the U.S. population aged 2 years and older had a mean usual daily intake of 12.2% calories from added sugar in 2015 to 2018. To meet the Healthy People 2030 target, the researchers wrote that added sugars intake must decrease by an average of:

• 13.7 calories per day for the general population;
• 22 calories per day for people exceeding the DGA recommendation;
• 56.6 calories per day for high consumers; and
• 13.9 calories per day and 32.3 calories per day, respectively, for those taking part in the hybrid approach.

“To put the caloric reduction in perspective in terms of food intake, the reduction is equivalent to about the amount of sugar in 1 oz of a soft drink or a quarter-cup of sugary cereal for the population approach, 2 oz of a soft drink or half a cup of sugary cereal for the [second] approach, and 5 oz of a soft drink or one and one-quarter cups of sugary cereal for the high-consumer approach,” Stowe and colleagues wrote.