February 27, 2013

expert reaction to new research into the relationship between sugar and diabetes

The results of a large epidemiological study published in PLOS ONE, which examined data on sugar availability and diabetes rates from 175 countries over the past decade, suggested sugar could be linked to diabetes independently of obesity.  A before the headlines analysis accompanied this roundup.

Dr Alison Lennox, Principal Investigator Scientist, MRC Human Nutrition Research, said:

“The findings of this paper are interesting, but it is difficult to say how they apply to the UK, because adults’ sugar consumption has not risen. Sugar intakes by adults in the UK have not increased over the past decade, according to data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

“The paper relies on sugar availability data, and the potential problem with that is where food wastage increases, as it has done in western countries, then food availability could rise while the actual amount of food consumed stays the same or even falls. It would be valuable to see if the association between sugar and diabetes still holds when compared to dietary consumption.”

UK daily sugar intakes (called non-milk extrinsic sugars)

Adults

2000-01 63.3g

2008-11 60.0g

Children 4-10 years old

1997 73.5g

2008-11 61.3g

Children 11-18 years old

1997 81.6

2008-11 73.7g

The latest National Diet & Nutrition Survey data can be found at http://transparency.dh.gov.uk/2012/07/25/ndns-3-years-report/  in the Chapter 5 Tables (Table 5.4 – NMEs).

Professor Brian Ratcliffe, Professor of Nutrition, Robert Gordon University, said:

 “This paper describes a carefully considered epidemiological study across over 137 countries relating the prevalence of diabetes to FAO food supply data and other factors such as the prevalence of obesity.  The authors show an interesting link between the supply of sugar and the prevalence of diabetes but they have stressed that this adds to the debate but does not demonstrate that sugar intake is causing diabetes.  The effect of sugar seemed not to be related simply to effects on energy intake or obesity.  It is interesting that they also showed a powerful link for GDP per capita indicating that a nation’s wealth is related to the prevalence of diabetes.”

‘The Relationship of Sugar to Population-Level Diabetes Prevalence: An Econometric Analysis of Repeated Cross-Sectional Data’ by Basu et al., published in PLOS ONE , on Wednesday 27th February.