Abstract
Obesity is an important modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases. While there is increasing focus on the role of dietary sugars, there remains a paucity of data establishing the association between sugar intake and obesity in the general public. The objective of this study was to investigate associations of estimated sugar intake with odds for obesity in a representative samples of English adults. We used data from 434 participants of the 2005 Health Survey of England. Biomarkers for total sugar intake were measured in 24h urine samples and used to estimate intake. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between estimated intake and measures of obesity (BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio) and obesity risk., respectively. Estimated sugars intake was significantly associated with BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, and these associations remained significant after adjustment for estimated protein intake. Estimated sugars intake was also associated with increased odds for obesity based on BMI (OR 1.02; 95% CI 1.00; 1.04 per 10 g), waist-circumference (OR 1.03; 95% CI 1.01; 1.05) and waist-to-hip ratio (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02; 1.06); all OR estimates remained significant after adjusting for estimated protein intake. Our results show a significant association between biomarker-estimated total sugars intake and both measures of obesity and obesity risk, confirming positive associations between total sugar intake, measures of obesity and obesity risk. This biomarker could be used to monitor the efficacy of public health interventions.
Footnotes
Sources of funding: This project was supported by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the Medical Research Council.
