Diagnosis of sugar consumption from commercial beverages with added sugar content

Abstract

The high content of added sugar in a large part of commercial beverages has represented a health problem worldwide for many years, due to the high consumption of this type of beverages by the average population, and where the Costa Rican context does not presents a different picture. Objective. The research reflected in this article proposed to carry out a scrutiny of the main beverages with added sugar content that are acquired in the commerce of the western zone of Costa Rica, as well as the investigation of the consumption habits of this type of beverages in the student population of the Greece Campus at the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Materials and methods. Face-to-face and virtual visits were carried out to businesses in the area of ​​influence of the Campus, with a view to achieving the inventory of available drinks and the classification according to their sugar content reported on nutritional labels, in addition to the preparation and application of a survey to students of the different careers taught at the Greece Campus - UCR. Results. They highlight an exhaustive inventory of more than 191 different beverages between brands and presentations with added sugar content, including soft drinks, moisturizers, juices (not carbonated) and energy. Likewise, 147 students surveyed, most of whom do not consume excessive amounts of the type of beverages under study, but important elements are obtained that demand special attention regarding health. Conclusions. It is necessary that, in many of the beverages contemplated in the study, the sugar content reported on the label already exceeds the maximum recommended daily intake of sucrose, if a complete drink with a volume of personal use (600 mL or less) is ingested; and that there is a small, but not negligible, percentage that requires attention in the respondents, due to the high intake of sugary drinks and the lack of habit with respect to the practice of physical exercise.