Good news! Only a modest reduction in added sugars consumption is needed to achieve the Healthy People 2030 target

Reducing caloric intake from added sugars is a Leading Health Indicator in Healthy People 2030 opens in new tab/window, a national public health initiative led by the US Department of Health and Human Services that sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and wellbeing over the next decade. Although many Americans consume too much sugar, investigators found that only a modest reduction in added sugars intake is needed to reach a population mean of 11.5% of calories from added sugars by 2030. Prioritizing reducing added sugars intake among people not meeting recommendations could help those most at risk for chronic disease related to added sugars consumption. They report opens in new tab/window their findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine opens in new tab/window.

“Diets high in added sugars are associated with adverse health outcomes such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease,” said Ellen W. Stowe, PhD, MPH, lead investigator and fellow, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA. “We wanted to study what kind of reduction in added sugars intake was needed to achieve this Healthy People 2030 target.”

Although the consumption of added sugars has declined in the United States, many Americans still consume too much. The average added sugar consumption of persons two years and older in 2013–2016 was 13.5% of total calories. Less than half the population -- only about 35% of children aged two to 19 years and 47% of adults 20 years and older -- met the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendation of less than 10%.

Four public health approaches analyzing specific segments of the population were used to estimate the required reduction in added sugars intake needed to achieve the Healthy People 2030 target. Added sugars intake was examined before and after reduction by sociodemographic characteristics using survey data from the 2015–2016 and 2017–2018 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian US population.

Depending on the approach used, investigators found that calories from added sugars need to decrease by an average of 14 to 57 calories per day per person in order to meet the Healthy People 2030 target.

Approach 1: General United States population – decrease by an average of 13.7 calories/day

Approach 2: People exceeding the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendation for added sugars (>10% calories from added sugars) – decrease by an average of 22 calories/day

Approach 3: People exceeding the 2020–2025 DGA recommendation for added sugars by at least 1.5 times (≥15% calories from added sugars, i.e., high consumers of added sugars) – decrease by an average of 56.6 calories/day

Approach 4: People exceeding the DGA recommendation for added sugars with two different reductions based on added sugars intake – decrease by an average of 13.9 and 32.3 calories/day for people consuming 10 to <15% and ≥15% calories from added sugars, respectively

Significant differences by age, race/ethnicity, and income observed pre-reduction persisted after different added sugars reductions were applied based on the four approaches.

“The results from our study were encouraging,” said Dr. Stowe. “Regardless of which of the four approaches was used in this analysis, meeting the Healthy People 2030 added sugars target is achievable with modest reductions in added sugars intake. At most, this represents just less than half of one 12-ounce soft drink. This is important because a major change in diet would not be needed to achieve the target.”

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Notes for editors

The article is “Meeting the Healthy People 2030 Added Sugars Target,” by Ellen W. Stowe, PhD, MPH, Latetia V. Moore, PhD, Heather C. Hamner, PhD, Sohyun Park, PhD, Janelle P. Gunn, MPH; WenYen Juan, PhD, Mark A. Kantor, PhD, and Deborah A. Galuska, PhD(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2023.02.004 opens in new tab/window). It appears online in advance of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, volume 65, issue 1 (July 2023), published by Elsevier.

The article is openly available for 30 days at https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(23)00062-4/fulltext opens in new tab/window.

Full text of this also article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Jillian B. Morgan at +1 734 936 1590 or [email protected] opens in new tab/window. Journalists wishing to interview the authors should contact [email protected] opens in new tab/window for lead author and senior author, Deborah Galuska, MPH, PhD.

About the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine opens in new tab/window is the official journal of the American College of Preventive Medicine opens in new tab/window and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research opens in new tab/window. It publishes articles in the areas of prevention research, teaching, practice and policy. Original research is published on interventions aimed at the prevention of chronic and acute disease and the promotion of individual and community health. The journal features papers that address the primary and secondary prevention of important clinical, behavioral and public health issues such as injury and violence, infectious disease, women's health, smoking, sedentary behaviors and physical activity, nutrition, diabetes, obesity, and alcohol and drug abuse. Papers also address educational initiatives aimed at improving the ability of health professionals to provide effective clinical prevention and public health services. The journal also publishes official policy statements from the two co-sponsoring organizations, health services research pertinent to prevention and public health, review articles, media reviews, and editorials. www.ajpmonline.org opens in new tab/window

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