Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents

Given our current knowledge and insights into the nature of nutrition, a simplistic approach to understanding the role of nutrition in relation to health outcomes appears insufficient as a scientific base for setting nutrition policies. To raise this issue, we performed a scoping review to evaluate...

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Main Authors: Stefania Noerman, Ute Nöthlings, Danijela Ristic-Medic, Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir, Inge Tetens, Marjukka Kolehmainen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-11-01
Series:Proceedings
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/91/1/81
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author Stefania Noerman
Ute Nöthlings
Danijela Ristic-Medic
Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir
Inge Tetens
Marjukka Kolehmainen
author_facet Stefania Noerman
Ute Nöthlings
Danijela Ristic-Medic
Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir
Inge Tetens
Marjukka Kolehmainen
author_sort Stefania Noerman
collection DOAJ
description Given our current knowledge and insights into the nature of nutrition, a simplistic approach to understanding the role of nutrition in relation to health outcomes appears insufficient as a scientific base for setting nutrition policies. To raise this issue, we performed a scoping review to evaluate the relationship between sugar intake, quality of life (QoL), and well-being in children and adolescents. Sugar was selected as it is an essential part of many different foods and dietary patterns. Its consumption is motivated by various aspects, such as social relationships, economic status, individual habits, and taste preferences. Childhood and adolescence are important periods in the life span influencing individual dietary habits and taste preferences but have been overlooked. We developed a framework and performed a structured literature search for articles published in English between 2001 and 2023 in three databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science). This search resulted in 21 full-text eligible papers with highly heterogeneous exposure and outcome measures. Most studies found a negative association between the intake of sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, or sweets, and various QoL outcomes, including food insecurity, sleep and sleep-related outcomes, and (oral) health-related QoL. This scoping review showed that the inclusion of more varied endpoints than only non-communicable diseases or caries could add more dimensions to the evidence underlying the association between sugar and health. The application of interdisciplinary approaches considering more aspects of sugar intake could give a more holistic view of nutrition when considering dietary recommendations or developing dietary policies, especially for children.
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spelling doaj-art-059d2858f597468eabfb9a8f3bc88eae2025-08-20T02:42:25ZengMDPI AGProceedings2504-39002023-11-019118110.3390/proceedings2023091081Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and AdolescentsStefania Noerman0Ute Nöthlings1Danijela Ristic-Medic2Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir3Inge Tetens4Marjukka Kolehmainen5Food and Nutrition Science Division, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, 41258 Gothenburg, SwedenInstitute of Nutrition and Food Science, Nutritional Epidemiology, Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, 53115 Bonn, GermanyGroup of Nutritional Biochemistry and Dietology, Centre of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of Republic Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaUnit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland and Landspitali University Hospital, 102 Reykjavík, IcelandDepartment of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkInstitute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, FinlandGiven our current knowledge and insights into the nature of nutrition, a simplistic approach to understanding the role of nutrition in relation to health outcomes appears insufficient as a scientific base for setting nutrition policies. To raise this issue, we performed a scoping review to evaluate the relationship between sugar intake, quality of life (QoL), and well-being in children and adolescents. Sugar was selected as it is an essential part of many different foods and dietary patterns. Its consumption is motivated by various aspects, such as social relationships, economic status, individual habits, and taste preferences. Childhood and adolescence are important periods in the life span influencing individual dietary habits and taste preferences but have been overlooked. We developed a framework and performed a structured literature search for articles published in English between 2001 and 2023 in three databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science). This search resulted in 21 full-text eligible papers with highly heterogeneous exposure and outcome measures. Most studies found a negative association between the intake of sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, or sweets, and various QoL outcomes, including food insecurity, sleep and sleep-related outcomes, and (oral) health-related QoL. This scoping review showed that the inclusion of more varied endpoints than only non-communicable diseases or caries could add more dimensions to the evidence underlying the association between sugar and health. The application of interdisciplinary approaches considering more aspects of sugar intake could give a more holistic view of nutrition when considering dietary recommendations or developing dietary policies, especially for children.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/91/1/81nutritionmethodologyquality of lifedietary guidelineswell-being
spellingShingle Stefania Noerman
Ute Nöthlings
Danijela Ristic-Medic
Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir
Inge Tetens
Marjukka Kolehmainen
Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
Proceedings
nutrition
methodology
quality of life
dietary guidelines
well-being
title Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
title_full Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
title_fullStr Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
title_short Multi-Faceted Nutritional Science Demonstrated through the Prism of Sugar—A Scoping Review on Sugar Intake Associated with Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents
title_sort multi faceted nutritional science demonstrated through the prism of sugar a scoping review on sugar intake associated with quality of life in children and adolescents
topic nutrition
methodology
quality of life
dietary guidelines
well-being
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/91/1/81
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