82% of South Wales’ adults don’t monitor sugar consumption
A recent survey into the sugar eating habits of Welsh adults indicates that those in the South are not as careful as their northern counterparts when it comes to their sugar intake.
A whopping 81% of adults in Swansea and 70% in Cardiff don’t care about how many sweets and sugary they eat.
Research commissioned by Ricola sugar free confectionery also revealed that a whopping 53% of sweet toothed Cardiff adults don’t monitor sugar intake, compared to 29% of those adults surveyed in Swansea.
Aberystwyth adults came out of the healthiest and most sugar aware of those surveyed as 58% of do care about how much sugar they consume and Aberystwyth was the only Welsh town where adults don’t eat sweets or sugary items every day. In Swansea, 24% of adults eat sugary items every day and 29% in Cardiff.
Overall, Aberystwyth adults are the most careful about sugar consumption and also the most sugar aware of adults in the UK. Although they admitting eating less sugar than anywhere else in the UK, Aberystwyth’s adults were the ones that wanted to cut down sugar intake even more.
These latest research figures are released as part of Ricola’s new Sugar Swap campaign, which encourages people to carefully consider their weekly sugar intake and swap high sugar content confectionery for low sugar alternatives.
Leading UK Dietician, Kirsten Crothers, who is working with Ricola on the Suagr Swap campaign comments: “Frequent intake of foods which are high in sugar can lead to obesity and other associated life threatening conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. Unfortunately, as with many health messages, people are confused about what to eat and how to make lower sugar changes to their diet. Practical education is needed within the UK to help what is now a health crisis.”
Ricola’s research comes as the country’s war on sugar continues. Just this month, Public Health England has launched a £5million Change4Life campaign to promote a ‘Sugar Smart’ app, which allows consumers to scan bar codes of products to reveal how much sugar is in everyday food and drink, including sweets.
Whilst the UK is becoming more educated on the harmful effects of too much sugar in the diet, many are still misled by conflicting guidance around sugar-laden snacks such as sweetened drinks, cereal, chocolate, sweets and fruit juice. Latest government advice recommends that adults should consume no more than 30g of sugar per day, the equivalent of less than a single can of Coca-Cola.
Even simple everyday items such as a packet of extra strong mints can contain up to 95% sugar. It’s handbag treats such as these that Ricola are encouraging people to stop, think and replace for sugar free items to promote long term health benefits, including those related to dental health.
Andy Richman, Ricola’s Sales & Marketing Manager for Northern Europe comments: “We’re very keen to drum home the message that adults do not need added sugar in their diets. Just by swapping high sugar content snacks to healthier options, you can make a huge difference to your overall health’
