'Desserts' are 'Stressed' spelt backwards, and when it comes to the end of the meal - we are all guilty of indulging in more than our share. Our sugar cravings continue unabated and even people with the best of diets and willpower struggle to curtail the sugar in their diet. A recent survey was jointly conducted in the same regard by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute - India (ILSI-India). The survey revealed that women's intake of added sugar may actually be more than that of men's. According to the survey, women take around 20.2 grams of added sugar in a day while men's intake of added sugar is 18.7 grams per day.
Another significant finding of the study was that the mean intake of added sugar among metro cities of India, measured in grams per day, was highest in Mumbai and least in Hyderabad. Delhi was at the second rank among the metropolitan cities studied.
Dietary intake of sugar was measured among various age groups of the population.
Professor P K Seth, Chairman, ILSA-India said, "The survey shows population of Mumbai and Ahmedabad with their average intake level of added sugar at 26.3 grams and 25.9 grams per day has a much higher intake than their counterparts in Delhi (23.2 grams/ day), Bengaluru (19.3 grams day), Kolkata (17.1 grams per day) and Chennai (16.1 grams per day)."
Some more interesting findings from the survey also had some good news. The average daily intake of added sugar in all metro cities was 19.5 grams per day, which was significantly lower than the ICMR recommended level of 30 grams per day.
Talking about age groups, the highest sugar intake was seen in older adults in the age group of 36-59, who had a sugar intake of 20.5 grams per day. The lowest sugar intake among age groups was that among pre-school children in the age group 15.6 grams per day.
The study also measured sugar consumption by community, level of literacy, occupation, activity status and by the diet intake. It is the first of its kind to provide information on added sugar consumption of city dwellers in seven major metro cities of India. It is of considerable importance to India to help prevent non-communicable diseases which are engaging the attention of the government.