Quantitative recommendation on sugar intake in Germany

Short version of the consensus paper by the German Obesity Society (DAG), German Diabetes Society (DDG) and German Nutrition Society (DGE)

Jana Barbara Ernst, Ulrike Arens-Azevêdo, Barbara Bitzer, et al.

Introduction and goals

A high and frequent sugar intake is associated with various undesirable health consequences. Some consequences, such as the development of dental caries, relate to sugar intake directly and within a short time frame, whereas others are of an indirect nature and their development is more complex.

For this reason, various international scientific and official government bodies have published quantitative recommendations on sugar intake. Sugar intake in Germany is currently considerably above these recommendations. Therefore, a clear definition for a maximum level of sugar intake with no detremental health consequences is needed. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was requested by the Nordic countries to update their report from 2010 due to the additional data available [1], but this update is not to be expected before 2020 at the earliest.

The aim of the consensus paper by the German Obesity Society (DAG), German Diabetes Society (DDG), and German Nutrition Society (DGE) [2] is to present the existing quantitative recommendations for the daily intake of added and free sugars, respectively, given by other scientific and official government bodies and to establish a quantitative recommendation on daily sugar intake applicable for the general population in Germany. Furthermore, policies to promote healthy diets focussing on the reduction of sugar intake are presented and corresponding recommendations for action established. This paper represents the short version of the consensus paper [2].

Abstract

High and frequent sugar intake is, among others, linked to overweight and obesity, an increased risk for several diseases associated with overweight, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases, as well as the development of dental caries. Accordingly, various international scientific and official government bodies have already published quantitative recommendations on daily sugar intake. Recent data show that the population-level intake of sugars in Germany significantly exceeds these recommendations. With the consensus paper, the German Obesity Society (DAG), the German Diabetes Society (DDG), and the German Nutrition Society (DGE) are endorsing the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2015 and call for a maximum free sugar intake of no more than 10% of total energy intake. Free sugars include mono- and disaccharides which manufacturers, cooks or consumers add to foods, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit concentrates, and fruit juices. In case of an estimated total energy intake of 2,000 kcal per day, this recommendation corresponds to 50 g free sugars. Currently, various policies to promote healthy diets are applied across the world to reduce sugar intake. In the long term a coordinated combination of a range of mandatory policies to promote healthy diets is recommendable. This means to address the food environment and food system with a comprehensive strategy to deal with the multicausal problem of overweight and obesity and the associated conditions caused partly by unhealthy eating. This article represents the short version of the consensus paper.

Keywords: sugar, free sugars, added sugars, sugar intake, WHO, public health

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