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XIII. Appendix: Estimation of Sugars Intake of U.S. Population Groups

Per capita disappearance data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that the level of sweeteners in the U.S. food supply has increased considerably since 1909. In 1985, the amount of nutritive (carbohydrate) sweeteners available for consumption by the U.S. population was estimated on a dry weight basis as 126.6 lb per capita per year (or 157 g per capita per day) as compared to 87.5 lb per capita per year (or 109 g per capita per day) in 1909. Changes in sweeteners in the food supply occurred not only in the level of total sweeteners but also in the sweetener composition of the food supply, i.e., proportions of various sweeteners. Sucrose was the only major sweetener used during the first half of this century. Beginning in the mid-1900s, the use of corn-derived sweeteners (corn sweeteners) increased. This increase in the use of corn sweeteners was associated with a progressive decline in the use of sucrose. In 1985, the use of these two sweeteners was about equal on a dry weight basis.

Numerous health concerns have been raised concerning the increased level of sweetener use in the U.S. and the shift in the types used. In November 1982, the Agency proposed to affirm the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status of sucrose, corn sugar, corn syrup and invert sugar. These proposals were based on two eveluations submitted to the FDA by the Select Committee on GRAS Substances of the Life Sciences Research Office of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The Agency received many comments on these proposals, some supporting and others objecting to the proposed affirmation.

The opponents pointed out that since the FASEB evaluations, many additional studies have been published on health effects of sugars intake (the term "sugars" refers to all mono- and disaccharides). A search for consumer exposure data revealed that exposure data appropriate for use in the safety evaluation of sugars intake were not available. This project was conducted to generate sugars intake data for use in the safety evaluation.

Current intake of sugars was estimated for 14 sex/age groups and for the total population by merging 3-day dietary intake data from the 1977-78 USDA's Nationwide Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) and sugars content data. Estimates were made for four categories of sugars and five categories of specific sugars. The term "specific sugars' is used to refer to subcategories of sugars such as fructose and sucrose. The four categories of sugars are: added, naturally occurring, total sugars, and total sugars minus lactose. The five categories of specific sugars are fructose, sucrose and sugars from three categories of corn sweeteners. Data on sugars content were derived from various sources and methods including (a) available analytical data, (b) direct laboratory analysis of foods, (c) use of recipes specifically developed by the USDA for the NFCS and (d) use of product formulary information from the literature and other sources. A summary of the estimates of the current intake of sugars and specific sugars as of 1984 is presented below.

Sugars Intake::

• The average daily intake (DI) of total sugars for the 14 groups ranged from 62 to 143 g/day with a mean of 95 g/day for the total population; the DI of total sugars minus lactose ranged from 31 to 116 g/day with a mean of 80 g/day for the total population; and the DI of added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 10 to 84 g/day with a mean of 53 g/day for the total population.

• The DI of sugars on a kilogram body weight basis (DIKG) for total sugars ranged from 1.2 to 8.5 g/kg body weight/day; the DIKG for total sugars minus lactose ranged from 1.0 to 4.6 g/kg body weight/day; and the DIKG for added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 0.6 to 2.9 g/kg body weight/day.

• The DI of sugars as a percentage of the average daily intake of calories (DI/DCAL) for total sugars ranged from 18 to 32% with a mean of 21% for the total population; total sugars minus lactose ranged from 15 to 20% with a mean of 18% for the total population; and the DI/DCAL for added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 5 to 14% with a mean of 11% for the total population.

• The daily intake for the 90th percentile consumer exposure level (90th DI) of total sugars ranged from 93 to 230 g/day with a mean of 160 g/day for the total population; the 90th DI of total sugars minus lactose ranged from 65 to 193 g/day with a mean of 139 g/day for the total population; and the 90th DI of added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 30 to 155 g/day with a mean of 104 g/day for the total population.

• The 90th DI on a kilogram body weight basis (90th DIKG) for total sugars ranged from 2.1 to 12.1 g/kg body weight/day; the 90th DIKG for total sugars minus lactose ranged from 1.8 to 8.2 g/kg body weight/day; and the 90th DIKG for added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 1.1 to 5.5 g/kg body weight/day.

• The 90th DI for sugars as a percentage of average daily intake of calories (90th DI/DCAL) for total sugars ranged from 27 to 43% with a mean of 31% for the total population; the 90th DI/DCAL for added sugars (excluding lactose) ranged from 15 to 24% with a mean of 20% for the total population.

• Both the DI and the 90th DI of sugars were strongly age- and/or sex-dependent in terms of grams per day and on a kilogram body weight basis. This age/sex dependency was less obvious when the intake was expressed as a percentage of carbohydrate or calorie intake.

Specific Sugars Intake::

• Sucrose

— The DI of total sucrose for the 14 sex/age groups ranged from 14 to 60 g/day with a mean of 41 g/day for the total population; the DI of added sucrose ranged from 6 to 43 g/day with a mean of 28 g/day for the total population.

— The DIKG of total sucrose ranged from 0.5 to 2.3 g/kg body weight/day and the values for added sucrose ranged from 0.3 to 1.5 g/kg body weight/day.

— The DI/DCAL for total sucrose ranged from 7 to 11% with a mean of 9% for the total population; the DI/DCAL for added sucrose ranged from 3 to 8% with a mean of 6% for the total population.

— The 90th DI of total sucrose ranged from 31 to 101 g/day with a mean of 73 g/day for the total population; the 90th DI of added sucrose ranged from 19 to 80 g/day with a mean of 56 g/day for the total population.

— The 90th DIKG of total sucrose ranged from 1.0 to 4.1 g/kg body weight/day and the values for added sucrose ranged from 0.7 to 3.0 g/kg body weight/day.

— The 90th DI/DCAL for total sucrose ranged from 13 to 16% with a mean of 14% for the total population; the 90th DI/DCAL for added sucrose ranged from 9 to 13% with a mean of 11% for the total population.

• Fructose

— The DI of total fructose for the 14 groups ranged from 8 to 24 g/day with a mean of 16 g/day for the total population; the DI of added fructose ranged from 2 to 17 g/day with a mean of 10 g/day for the total population.

— The DIKG of total fructose ranged from 0.2 to 1.0 g/kg body weight/day and the values for added fructose ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 g/kg body weight/day.

— The DI/DCAL for total fructose ranged from 3 to 4% with a mean of 4% for the total population; the DI/DCAL for added fructose ranged from 1 to 3% with a mean of 2% for the total population.

— The 90th DI of total fructose ranged from 16 to 43 g/day with a mean of 31 g/day for the total population; the 90th DI of added fructose ranged from 5 to 35 g/day with a mean of 23 g/day for the total population.

— The 90th DIKG for total fructose ranged from 0.4 to 2.0 g/kg body weight/day and the values for added fructose ranged from 0.2 to 1.2 g/kg body weight/day.

— The 90th DI/DCAL for total fructose ranged from 5 to 8% with a mean of 7% for the total population; the 80th DI/DCAL for added fructose ranged from 2 to 7% with a mean of 5% for the total population.

• High fructose corn syrup

— The DI of sugars from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for the 14 groups ranged from 3 to 33 g/day with a mean of 19 g/day for the total population. These estimates also represent the DI for the dry weight of HFCS.

— The DIKG of HFCS ranged from 0.2 to 1.0 g/kg body weight/day.

— The DI/DCAL of HFCS ranged from 2 to 6% with a mean of 4% for the total population.

— The 90th DI of HFCS ranged from 10 to 66 g/day with a mean of 43 g/day for the total population.

— The 90th DIKG of HFCS ranged from 0.4 to 2.2 g/kg body weight/day.

— The 90th DI/DCAL of HFCS ranged from 5 to 13% with a mean of 9% for the total population.

• As with the sugars intake, both the DI and the 90th DI of specific sugars were sex- and/or age-dependent in terms of grams per day and on a kilogram body weight basis. This sex/age dependency was less obvious when the intake was expressed as a percentage of calorie intake.