Parents’ considerable underestimation of sugar and their child’s risk of overweight

Dallacker, Mattea; Hertwig, Ralph; Mata, Jutta

doi:10.1038/s41366-018-0021-5

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Recent research has shown that the vast majority of parents significantly underestimate the sugar content of common food items in children's diets and the degree of parental underestimation of sugar was associated with risk of overweight and obesity [28]. Notably, of the six foods tested in the study, yogurt was the food the majority of parents (92% of 305) underestimated the most, by "seven sugar cubes" [28]. The authors attribute this to the 'health halo effect', whereby the sugar contents of perceived healthy foods are underestimated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar Reduction in Yogurt Products Sold in the UK between 2016 and 2019

2020

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The UK government has called for industry reformulation of foods that contribute most to sugar consumption in children’s diets, including yogurts. The aim of this work was to comprehensively survey yogurt products available in UK supermarkets in 2019 to determine whether sugar contents had been reduced since our baseline survey in 2016. Product information was collected for 893 unique yogurt, fromage frais and dairy dessert products, and nutrient contents were analysed in comparison to those previously examined. Examining all products, there was a highly significant (p < 0.0001) reduction in the median total sugar contents in 2019 compared to those in 2016: median (interquartile range): 10.4 g/100 g (6.6, 13.0) versus 11.9 g/100 (8.8, 13.6). However, notable product turnover was evident; while 60% of the 2019 products surveyed could be matched by brand and name to 2016, 40% were new. In scrutinising paired products closely, only 32% (173 of 539) had reduced sugar contents with a smaller mean difference of −0.65 g/100 g (p < 0.0001), suggesting that the overall median had dropped as a result of higher sugar products being discontinued. Categories showing the most improvements were children’s, drinks and fruit yogurts. Although only 15% of the 2019 products contained ≤5 g/100 g sugars, considered a ‘low-sugar’ product for labelling, this was an improvement over the 9% identified in 2016. Our results yield important insights into current market trends and demonstrate that the median sugar content of UK yogurt products has been reduced by 13% in two years. These data independently evidence modest, but encouraging changes in response to public policy initiatives aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar Reduction in Yogurt Products Sold in the UK between 2016 and 2019

2020

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“…Based on this relative deviation, underestimation was defined as a relative deviation lower than 0, while overestimation was defined as a relative deviation greater than 0 (c.f. [10]). Estimations were accurate if relative deviation equalled 0.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research suggests that many consumers struggle to estimate accurately foods’ nutritional value: A study that specifically investigated estimations of sugar content showed that the majority of participants underestimated the sugar content of four out of six food items, although there was some variation in the under- and overestimation of sugar content between foods [10]. Other studies that investigated estimations of a meal’s energy content showed a general underestimation that increased with meal size [11,12,13,14,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Actual and Perceived Inaccuracy When Estimating the Sugar, Energy Content and Portion Size of Foods

2019

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In order to adhere to dietary guidelines and manage health risks, consumers need to be able to estimate with some accuracy the sugar and energy content of foods. The present study compared how well participants could estimate the sugar and energy content of foods, the weight of foods, and approximate portion size (using a hand measure estimation aid). The study had three aims. First, it aimed to investigate differences in accuracy across the four measures. Second, it aimed to examine whether these differences in accuracy between estimation measures were accurately perceived by the participants. Third, it aimed to test if estimation accuracy was related to food journaling experience, body-mass index or gender. One hundred and ninety-seven participants took part in an estimation task and filled in a questionnaire. While the participants were inaccurate when using all four estimation measures, inaccuracy was most pronounced for sugar content (ds ≥ 0.39), which was consistently overestimated by between 62.1% and 98.5% of the sample. None of the other measures showed a consistent pattern of under- or overestimation. Participants’ perceived accuracy did not match their actual accuracy (rs ≤ |0.20|, ps ≥ 0.005). Actual accuracy showed only marginal covariation with food journaling experience (ts ≤ 2.01, ps ≥ 0.049, ds ≤ 0.14), body-mass index (rs ≤ |0.15|, ps ≥ 0.041) or gender (ts ≤ 3.17, ps ≥ 0.002, ds ≤ 0.46). It is particularly challenging for consumers to estimate the sugar content of food, which might have negative consequences for health and well-being. Thus, more education about sugar content and misperceptions is needed to support consumers so that they can make healthy food choices.

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“…Parents are their children’s nutritional gatekeepers, their knowledge and choices determine what their children eat (e.g. Dallacker et al 2016 ; 2018 ). Children have little control over purchases and generally eat the food that is available at home (Lopez et al 2012 ; Elfhag et al 2008 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relations between sweetened beverage consumption and individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors: a 6-year longitudinal study in German children and adolescents

Schneider

Mata

Kadel

2020

Int J Public Health

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Objectives This study aims to characterize the consumption of sweetened beverages (SB) among young people in Germany in terms of individual and interpersonal-environmental correlates. Methods A representative sample of children and adolescents from Germany was assessed twice, 6 years apart (total longitudinal sample n = 11,691 children and adolescents aged between 0 and 17 years old; weighted). The relations between individual and interpersonal-environmental factors at baseline with SB intake 6 years later were analysed using bivariate and multivariate methods. Results The majority of children and adolescents in Germany consume sweetened beverages weekly, 23% daily. SB consumption is particularly high in boys and often accompanied by other unhealthy lifestyle behaviours including a high level of tobacco and media consumption with a concurrent deficiency in fruit and vegetable consumption. Interpersonal factors associated with higher sweetened beverage consumption include low socio-economic status, tobacco consumption of parents, and older maternal age. Conclusions Research on factors that correlate with sweetened beverage consumption is crucial to design effective interventions. Our findings underline the importance of complex, multi-level interventions to target sweetened beverage intake and obesity. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00038-020-01397-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Parents’ considerable underestimation of sugar and their child’s risk of overweight

Cited by 26 publications

References 16 publications

Sugar Reduction in Yogurt Products Sold in the UK between 2016 and 2019

Sugar Reduction in Yogurt Products Sold in the UK between 2016 and 2019

Quantifying Actual and Perceived Inaccuracy When Estimating the Sugar, Energy Content and Portion Size of Foods

Relations between sweetened beverage consumption and individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors: a 6-year longitudinal study in German children and adolescents

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