Study: Sugar Content in Sodas and More in Austria Significantly Decreased
For the first time, an average sugar content of just under 6.0 grams per 100 milliliters has been achieved, and this without replacing the missing sweetness with sweeteners. The preventive medical institute SIPCAN therefore plans to lower the recommended limit again in 2027, announced national coordinator Manuel Schätzer in an APA interview on Wednesday.
For the current study, almost 600 beverages were examined. An average sugar content of 5.8 grams per 100 milliliters was found. At the beginning of the surveys in 2010, this value was still 7.5 grams. This decrease is thanks to the domestic beverage industry, as international corporations would not change their formulas for Austria, according to Schätzer. These beverages sometimes have more than ten grams of sugar.
SIPCAN (Special Institute for Preventive Cardiology and Nutrition) based in Salzburg has been providing a recommended limit for sugar content in collaboration with the Ministry of Health since 2010, which was 7.5 grams in 2010 and was reduced to 6.3 grams at the beginning of this year and is to be further reduced to 6.0 in 2027. This gradual reduction allowed the industry to follow suit. "Many beverages have thus become less sweet in small steps. This had the advantage that consumers could slowly get used to the lower sweetness," said Schätzer.
Increased Health Risk from Artificial Sweeteners
This is important because compensation with artificial sweeteners "is increasingly under scientific criticism, as their long-term consumption is associated with increased health risks such as cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes mellitus. The WHO also strongly advises against their use for weight control. A truly successful sugar reduction must therefore happen without sweeteners," said SIPCAN board member Friedrich Hoppichler.
This has also happened in Austria: The proportion of beverages containing sweeteners has not increased since 2010, but has even decreased from 16.6 to 14.3 percent of all beverages. In the UK, however, where a sugar tax was introduced, almost nine out of ten soft drinks today contain sweeteners.
Maximum 50 Grams of Sugar per Day for Adults
The World Health Organization WHO recommends that adults consume a maximum of ten percent of their daily energy needs from free sugars. "For an average adult, this is about 50 grams of sugar per day, for a twelve-year-old child about 60 grams," said Schätzer. This means that with one liter of a beverage with an average sugar content, this value is already exceeded.
(APA/Red)
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