Top sources and trends in consumption of total energy and energy from solid fats and added sugars among youth aged 2-18 years: United States 2009-2018.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Repeated cross-sectional survey analysis without longitudinal cohort follow-up or intervention.
PubMed 36041175 · doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqac238
What was done
Analyzed dietary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for US youth aged 2–18 years. The authors estimated total energy and energy from solid fats and added sugars combined (SoFAS), identified top food category sources in 2015–2018 (n = 5,038), and evaluated trends from 2009 to 2018 (n = 14,038) using univariate t-statistics and orthogonal polynomials.
What was found
In 2015–2018, SoFAS provided a mean (SE) of 30.0% (0.3%) of total daily energy, with solid fats providing 16.1% (0.2%) and added sugars providing 13.8% (0.2%). Added sugar intake increased with age from 11.1% (2–3 y) to 14.4% (14–18 y). The top sources of total energy were sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza, other mixed dishes, and unflavored milk; top SoFAS sources additionally included soft drinks, other desserts, candy, and snack bars. Between 2009 and 2018, total energy intake remained unchanged, while energy from SoFAS, solid fats, added sugars, and unflavored milk declined.
Why it matters
US youth consume approximately double the recommended limit of calories from solid fats and added sugars, identifying key target food categories for dietary intervention.
Limits
Relies on cross-sectional self-reported or proxy-reported dietary recall data subject to measurement error and recall bias. The abstract reports no longitudinal individual tracking or clinical health outcomes.
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