Sugar lawsuit is settled, but study says most consumers still trying to cut back

Anyone who’s tried to give up processed sugar knows how ubiquitous it is in our food.

Want to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Sugar’s in all three components – either as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup – unless you seek out more expensive alternatives.

On Friday, groups representing the sugar and high-fructose corn syrup industries settled a long-running lawsuit that centered on which product is healthier, but terms were not released. Increasingly, though, consumers say they’re trying to limit or give up both entirely and as a result, more sugar-free and reduced-sugar food is being consumed, while shipments of alternative sweeteners are up.

“Over the long term, behaviors are starting to mirror what people are saying about sugar,” said Darren Seifer, a food and beverage analyst for market research firm NPD Group.

Since NPD Group’s ongoing nutrition study began in 2004, fat had always been the top concern, Seifer said, but it came in second to sugar last year. About 65 percent of adults said they want to reduce or eliminate sugar in their diets and 57 percent want to reduce or eliminate their consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, NPD found.

Does that mean people are less concerned about high-fructose corn syrup than they are about sugar?

Not at all, Seifer said.

High-fructose corn syrup, a processed corn-derived sweetener, is cheaper and therefore more widely used in the U.S. food supply, said Frank Hu, a nutrition and epidemiology professor at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. But in terms of health impact, there’s no meaningful difference between sugar and its corn-based competitor, Hu said.

In NPD’s study, 42 percent of adults said they check for sugar on the “Nutrition Facts” label, which represents both sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in this context. That’s tied with calories for top nutritional concern.

In either form, an excessive intake of added sugar – meaning not naturally found in food – can lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease, particularly when it comes to beverages, Hu said. While it’s good that consumers are trying to cut back, the average American consumes 20 to 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, he said.

“I don’t think we should relax,” Hu said. “Sugar is just one piece of the puzzle in terms of overall dietary patterns.”

Both Hu and Seifer said nutrition label changes under consideration by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may help. If the changes are approved, labels would specify “added sugar” on a separate line beneath sugar and indicate what percentage that represents of daily value.

Meanwhile, sugar substitutes are having their day in the sun. Case shipments of bulk sugar substitutes to food service outlets increased by 22 percent in the 12 months that ended in August, according to NPD. Stevia, a sweetener extracted from the leaves of the Stevia plant, saw the largest increase of sugar substitutes, at 11 percent.

More research is needed into the long-term health impact of sugar substitutes, Hu said. But in the short term, they can help wean people off added sugar.

As one example, Hu recommended that habitual soda drinkers try diet soda “almost like a nicotine patch,” until they can consistently drink healthier beverages like water, coffee or tea – presumably without adding sugar.