Cutting Out Sugar to Cut Down Cardiovascular Risk

Everyone knows that sugary beverages and candy are empty calories that can cause tooth decay and obesity, but an analysis of national health survey data provide evidence that consuming added sugar increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Quanhe Yang, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and colleagues found that between 2005 and 2010, approximately 7 in 10 adults consumed 10% or more of their daily calories from added sugar. One in 10 adults consumed 25% or more of their daily calories from added sugar. For the time-trend analysis, these data were gleaned from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included 31,147 adults. For the association study, data were gleaned from the NHANES Linked Mortality Cohort, a nationally representative prospective cohort that includes 11,733 adults. Over a median follow-up period of 14.6 years, 831 cardiovascular-related deaths occurred (163,039 person-years). Adjusted hazard ratios were 1.30 and 2.75, respectively, for adults who consumed 10% to 25% of their daily calories from added sugar compared with adults who consumed less than 10% of daily calories from added sugar. These findings were consistent across age groups, sex, race/ethnicity (with the exception of non-Hispanics), education, physical activity, health eating index, and body mass index. The study also found that the average percentage of daily calories from added sugar was highest, at nearly 17%, between 1999 and 2004. Between 2005 and 2010, the average had dropped under 15%. There is no universally accepted definition for an unhealthy level of added sugar (ie, sugar that is added in the processing of foods). The American Heart Association advises limiting daily added sugar intake to 100 calories daily for women and 150 calories for men. The World Health Organization advises limiting added sugar to less than 10% of daily calories. The authors concluded, “Most US adults consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet. We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for [cardiovascular] mortality.” -Allison Musante, ELS Reference Yang, Q, Zhang Z, Gregg EW, Flanders WD, Merritt, R, Hu FB. Added sugar intake and cardiovascular diseases mortality among US adults. JAMA Intern Med. Published online ahead of print February 3, 2014.