Adults: Sweet foods consumption

Definition

Proportion of the population age 15 years and older who consumed sweet foods during the previous day or night.

Relevance

Sweet foods typically have more calories, higher added sugar content, and fewer nutrients and thus should be limited. The WHO recommends added sugars be limited to less than 10% of total energy. Excessive conusumption may increase the risk of overweight and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Sweet food consumption is part of WHO and UNICEF's "Unhealthy food consumption" indicator for infants and young children.