Monday 29 June 2009

S14029: Survey to measure intake of non-milk extrinsic sugar in Scottish children

Wednesday 5 March 2008

Study Duration : November 2005 to March 2008

Contractor : ScotCen (Scottish Centre for Social Research). Co-contractors are the University of Aberdeen and Kings College London.

Background

In 1996, in the Scottish Diet Action Plan, the Scottish Executive committed to a Scottish Dietary Target for children to reduce the consumption of non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) to less than 10% of energy intake. The increase in childhood obesity and the high levels of dental decay in Scotland mean that this is a continuing priority to help achieve a healthy balanced diet. The present survey was commissioned to address the recommendation of the working group on Monitoring Scottish Dietary Targets that ‘where data is currently lacking, as for non-milk extrinsic sugars in children, interim studies may need to be set up’.

Research Approach

A nationally representative survey of children aged 3-16 was carried out which aimed to provide robust information on the diet of children living in Scotland using a calibrated food frequency questionnaire with particular focus on sugar containing foods. NMES are those sugars present in fruit juices, table sugar and sugars added to food

Additional Information

Study Aims:
• To estimate intake of NMES, other macronutrients and foods in a nationally representative sample of children in Scotland aged 3-16 years using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ).
• To compare intakes of NMES and other macronutrients between sub-groups divided by age, sex, deprivation category and rural-urban residence.
• To investigate associations between energy, NMES and fat intake, with obesity, levels of physical activity and dental health.

Response rates

Face to face interviews were conducted with 1,700 respondents and 1,512 FFQs were returned giving a combined response rate of 66%.

Key Findings

The mean intake of NMES* was 17.4%, which is much higher than the Scottish Dietary Target and slightly higher than values reported in other UK-wide dietary surveys.
NMES increased with age and was higher for children living in more deprived compared with less deprived areas (18.4% versus 16.3%).
Non-diet soft drinks were the major contributors to NMES along with confectionary and biscuits, cakes and pastries. The foods contributing to NMES varied significantly with socio-economic status.
The intake of saturated fat was 13.8% also higher than the Scottish Dietary Target of ≤ 11% food energy.
There were strong associations between the intake of certain foods and deprivation, particularly processed meats, chips, crisps, confectionery and soft drinks which were higher in the children living in more deprived areas.
There was little evidence of a difference in intake of foods or nutrients between the overweight and obese and the non-overweight and obese children, possibly due to underreporting or dietary restraint in the overweight group.
Overall 86% of children reached the current recommended activity level for children, however a significantly higher proportion of overweight children reported spending longer in front of a screen than the non –overweight children.
NMES intake was higher in children who had been treated for dental decay than for children who had not (18.5% versus 16.1%).

*All nutrient intakes are expressed as % food energy

Results and findings

This study provides clear evidence that the intake of NMES is considerably higher than the Scottish Dietary Target in the study population and in all sub-groups. The foods contributing to NMES vary significantly with socio-economic status but are mainly due to high consumption of soft drinks, confectionary, biscuits and cakes.

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S14029: Survey to measure intake of non-milk extrinsic sugar in Scottish children

Background

Research Approach

Additional Information

Results and findings

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