Total and added sugar intake: Assessment in eight Latin American countries

Non-communicable diseases are growing at an alarming rate in Latin America. We assessed total and added sugar intake in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, to verify the adequacy of the World Health Organization’s recommendations, considering gender, socioeconomic level (SEL) and age. A total of 9218 non-institutionalized individuals living in urban areas (age range 15-65 years) were assessed in the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS), a multicenter household population-based cross-sectional survey. Socio-demographic data were collected. Total and added sugar intakes were measured using two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. The prevalence of excessive sugar intake was estimated. A large proportion of individuals showed high consumption of total and added sugar intake, which reflected in the high prevalence of excessive sugar intake. With minimal differences across countries, in general, women, individuals with high SEL, and younger people had higher percentages of total energy intake from total and added sugar intake, and of contribution of carbohydrates from total and added sugars. Thus, there is high consumption of total and added sugar intake in the Latin American countries with some peculiarities considering socio-demographic variables, which should be considered in each country’s health intervention proposals.