Sugar Nutrition UK response to British Journal of Sports Medicine Editorial on Physical Inactivity and Obesity

We welcome efforts to tackle the complex problem of obesity in British society and better educate the public on the foods they consume. We read with interest the editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (It’s time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity; you can’t outrun a bad diet), but are concerned that it disregards the current consensus of scientific evidence on both obesity and the relationship between sugars, carbohydrates and body weight. More “Sugar Nutrition UK response to British Journal of Sports Medicine Editorial on Physical Inactivity and Obesity” >

Comment regarding Sheiham and James paper in BMC Public Health on sugar and dental caries

This is a paper using existing data, and includes the use of evidence that the World Health Organisation deemed to be of ‘very low’ quality. These historical studies use supply data of potential sugar availability and attempt to link this to incidence of dental caries. Due to their nature they are unable to show that individuals with the lowest sugar intakes have the least dental decay, or that those with higher intakes have increased amounts of dental decay. More “Comment regarding Sheiham and James paper in BMC Public Health on sugar and dental caries” >

Response to the launch of the consultation on the draft report on carbohydrates by SACN

Sugar Nutrition UK welcomes the launch of the consultation on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) review of the evidence on carbohydrates and health. This review has taken seven years of work and analysis by the UK’s top experts in this field and is globally the most comprehensive review in recent years to have been produced. This review therefore rightly deserves careful and thorough consideration.

Once we have reviewed the document in detail we will be submitting a response to the consultation through the official process.


For more information and media requests please email [email protected] and/or call 0203 701 7470 / 07738 198 935.

Sugar Nutrition UK is an evidence-based association principally funded by UK sugar manufacturers and is involved in promoting nutrition research and raising awareness among academics, health professionals, the media and the public about sugars and their role in health.

Latest results on sugars intakes from Years 1-4 of the Government’s National Diet & Nutrition Survey

The release of the report today from Years 1-4 of the Government’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey’s rolling programme provides updated information on UK dietary intakes. The latest data shows average intakes of Non-Milk Extrinsic Sugars (NMES)* to be 58.8g/day for adults, which accounts for 12.1% of food energy intake. The current UK recommendation is for NMES intakes below 11% of food energy, a value established in regards to dental health.

More “Latest results on sugars intakes from Years 1-4 of the Government’s National Diet & Nutrition Survey” >

Sugar Nutrition UK response to the public consultation on the WHO Draft Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children

Sugar Nutrition UK welcomes the public consultation on the draft guideline on sugars for adults and children launched by the World Health Organisation. We have reviewed the report and have submitted a response to the consultation through the official process.

An executive summary of our response is available here and a copy of our full response can be seen here.


For more information and media requests please email [email protected] and/or call 0203 701 7470 / 07738 198 935.

Sugar Nutrition UK is an evidence-based association principally funded by UK sugar manufacturers and is involved in promoting nutrition research and raising awareness among academics, health professionals, the media and the public about sugars and their role in health.

Information on Sugar Nutrition UK funded research

Sugar Nutrition UK fund research on sugars and health by awarding grants to academic institutes and independent experts. These funding grants provide vital information to an important field of work, particularly in areas that require further evidence. All of our research grants are provided in an ‘unrestricted’ manner, which means that the work is entirely independent and without influence or input from the funder. These research awards include contractual obligations for the findings to be submitted to the peer-reviewed literature, irrespective of their outcome.


For more information and media requests please email [email protected] and/or call 0203 701 7470 / 07738 198 935.

Sugar Nutrition UK is an evidence-based association principally funded by UK sugar manufacturers and is involved in promoting nutrition research and raising awareness among academics, health professionals, the media and the public about sugars and their role in health.

Response to claims made in relation to launch of the group ‘Action on Sugar’

This organisations claims are not supported by the consensus of scientific evidence. The international authority, the World Health Organisation, funded a review on sugar and obesity published last year which concluded that any link to body weight was due to overconsumption of calories and was not specific to sugars. It is simply not right to say that reducing the amount of sugar in foods will always result in a reduction of calories. In most cases the sugar will need to be replaced by another ingredient and the reformulated recipes can contain more calories than the original.

More “Response to claims made in relation to launch of the group ‘Action on Sugar’” >

Response to BMJ modelling study on the effect of an additional 20% sugar-sweetened drinks tax

This modelling study predicts that adding a 20% tax to the drinks in a shopping basket will reduce energy intakes by less than a mouthful, with an average reduction of just four calories a day (16.7kJ – Table 5).

More “Response to BMJ modelling study on the effect of an additional 20% sugar-sweetened drinks tax” >

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