Sugar guidelines unreliable says study funded by sugar industry

Conclusion This systematic review assessed guidelines from all over the world. This was an attempt to investigate recommendations on sugar intake and make assessments on their consistency, the quality of guideline development and the quality of the underlying evidence on which the recommendations were based. The researchers found that the process for developing guidelines on dietary sugar could be improved and recommendations are often based on low-quality evidence. They stated that health officials and the public should be aware of these limitations. However, caution should be taken when interpreting the findings of this research. The primary funding source for the study is from the food and drinks industry that has a lot to gain by casting doubt on the recommendations in such guidelines. It is important to consider the validity of the process for developing guidelines separately from the validity of the science linking increased sugar intake with health outcomes. Sometimes decisions for public health need to be based on the available evidence. The argument that various guidelines were based on evidence judged to be of poor to moderate quality may be an entirely valid point. But it shouldn't be taken as an implication that there is a body of high-quality evidence that contradicts the guidelines. It is well known that consumption of large quantities of sugar can be damaging to health and increasing the amount of total calories coming from free sugars in food or sugar-sweetene...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news