Nonnutritive sweeteners in Brazil: current use and associated factors

Abstract

Introduction: The consumption of added sugars has increased worldwide. To guide and encourage the implementation of public policies on the consumption of nonnutritive sweetener (NNS), it is necessary not only to identify the amount consumed of these products, but also the factors associated with their consumption. Objective: This study aimed to identify the variables related to NNS consumption in São Paulo state, Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional study involving adult employees of two public Universities in São Paulo state, Brazil, was conducted. An online questionnaire was applied containing questions on the use of NNSs and information about demographic, socioeconomic, anthropometric and health characteristics. The statistical analyses performed included: the Chi-square test to determine association between explanatory and dependent variables, adopting a level of significance of p<0.05, and binary logistic regression calculating the Odds-Ratio (OR) (α = 0.05). Results: A total of 1323 individuals took part in the study. The prevalence of NNS use was 53.3%, proving higher among individuals between 30 and 60 years of age (83.3. The Chi-squared test revealed that the variables gender (p = 0.000), Diabetes Mellitus (DM) (p = 0.000), arterial hypertension (p = 0.008), diffi culty controlling weight (p = 0.000), BMI (p = 0.000), income (p = 0.002) and age (p = .000) had a direct and signifi cant association with NNS consumption. On the logistics regression model, the variables signifi cantly associated with NNS consumption were gender (OR 1.3), age (OR = 2.59), DM (OR = 3.32), difficulty controlling weight (OR = 2.29) and consumption of diet foods (OR = 3.87). These results revealed that women are 30% more likely to consume NNS than men and that being aged between 50 and 60 years increases the likelihood of consuming these products by 2.59 times. In addition, being diabetic, having diffi culty controlling body weight, and consuming diet foods increase the likelihood of NNS consumption by 3.32; 2.29 and 3.97 times, respectively. Conclusion: The majority of the population studied were consumers of NNSs. The variables gender, age, DM, diffi culty controlling body weight, and consuming diet foods were all associated with the consumption of NNSs.

Utilização de adoçantes no Brasil: uma abordagem a partir de um inquérito domiciliar

“…8 . De maneira geral, e apesar das diferenças metodológicas, os resultados não diferem muito do que foi encontrado em outros estudos, em que dentre os maiores consumidores de adoçantes estão as mulheres 3,4,8,9,10,11 , os idosos 3,4,8 e os demais indivíduos com maior nível de escolaridade 3,8,11 , com maior poder econômico 3,8,10,11 , com excesso de peso 3,8 e portadores de diabetes e hipertensão 3,8,11 . No que diz respeito à maior prevalência de consumo entre as mulheres, esse resultado pode estar relacionado a uma maior preocupação com o controle de peso e com o cuidado da saúde, além da preocupação estética socialmente construída.…”

“…ORCID: Paulo Sérgio Dourado Arrais (0000-0002-4502-8467); Marisa Perdigão de Negreiros Vianna (0000-0002-1773-8111); Anamaria Vargas Zaccolo (0000-0001-6195-9301); Luzia Izabel Mesquita Moreira (0000-0003-0873-639X); Patrícia Maria Pontes Thé (0000-0003-2298-0700); Ana Rosa Pinto Quidute (0000-0003-1876-6410); Andréia Turmina Fontanella (0000-0003-0455-9429); Tatiane da Silva Dal Pizzol (0000-0002-7566-7745); Noemia Urruth Leão Tavares (0000-0001-6180-7527); Maria Auxiliadora Oliveira (0000-0003-2400-536X); Vera Lucia Luiza (0000-0001-6245-7522); Luiz Roberto Ramos (0000-0003-3143-8315); Mareni Rocha Farias (0000-0001-7166-8444); Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi (0000-0002-4680-3197); Sotero Serrate Mengue (0000-0002-3349-8541). 13,4% (IC95%: 12,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]3), siendo mayor entre las personas de sexo femenino y en el grupo con 60 años o más, en las regiones Nordeste y Sudeste, entre personas de clase económica A/B y entre individuos obesos. Las personas con enfermedades crónicas (en especial diabetes) fueron las que mostraron una mayor prevalencia de uso de edulcorantes, siendo el uso mayor, cuanto mayor fuera el número de comorbilidades informadas.…”

Intake of low and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) by the Brazilian population

“…The percent consumers from these studies are comparable to the percent consumers of tabletop sweeteners presented in Table 5 for adults 19-59y (10.9%) and 60 + y (26.5%). On the other hand, the prevalence of LNCS consumption in a study conducted by Geraldo and Pinto-e-Silva (2016) in 2016 among staff of two public universities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil was 54%, higher than the prevalence estimated in the current study and those estimated by Zanini Rde et al (2011), Arrais et al (2019), andSilva Monteiro et al (2018). Geraldo and Pinto-e-Silva (2016) attributed the higher estimated prevalence of LNCS consumers in their study as compared to those obtained by Zanini Rde et al (2011) to regional, income, and male to female ratio differences between the two studies.…”

Elaboration of a natural sweetener using Erythritol/Stevia

“…The study showed that 43% of respondents use sweeteners, more than 23% of respondents in the study Zanini et al (2011). Geraldo & Pinto-e-Silva (2016) showed that the odds of consuming sweeteners are 1.68 times higher among overweight people. By applying Pearson's Chi-square test in this study, the probability of consuming sweetener is 1.51 times higher among overweight respondents, showing a similarity in the results.…”