“Unexpected” sources of saturated fat and added sugar contribute to total intake, research flags

20 Aug 2024 --- There are several unexpected sources of saturated fat and added sugar in the diet of US adults beyond the main contributors of saturated fat (cheese, pizza and ice cream) or added sugar (soft drinks, tea, fruit drinks and cakes and pies), according to a recent study.

The research team is currently developing an app to assess “nutrients of concern” and they have already demonstrated that the tool’s analytic method produced a representative list of foods behind most saturated fat and added sugar intake. 

The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fat and added sugar consumption to 10% of total daily energy intake. The study’s authors underscore the importance of identifying which food and beverage sources contribute to this intake to develop targeted dietary surveillance and intervention efforts and promote cardiometabolic health. 

“Chicken breast is promoted as a lower saturated fat food, but it still has a bit of saturated fat. But it is helpful to know how foods with smaller amounts also slowly add saturated fat in a stealthy way into the diet,” explains first author Christopher Taylor, professor and director of medical dietetics in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University, US. 

“Being able to meet less than 10% is to identify the big contributors, but also to see where saturated fat and added sugar may still exist in other food choices. It doesn’t make them poor choices — it’s about being aware of how the morning latte may contribute.”

Unexpected sources

For the study published in Nutrients, the researchers assessed food consumption data from two 24-hour dietary recalls by 36,378 adults aged 19 or older from the 2005–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). They aggregated the outcomes based on food categories in the USDA’s “What We Eat in America” — an overview of food and beverage items consumed in the US diet. 

The team created a list of 95 food and beverage categories that contribute to at least 90% of the total saturated fat and added sugar intake of a sociodemographic diverse population of US adults. The authors highlight that the method can be replicated to assess intake of other nutrients. 

Beyond the top sources of fat and sugar, other less-known categories contributing to saturated fat intake include eggs and omelets, chicken, nuts and seeds and reduced-fat milk. Unexpected products contributing to added sugar intake include tomato-based condiments, cereal bars, sports and energy drinks, salad dressings and yeast breads. 

Chicken is a lesser-known contributor to saturated fat intake, while tomato-base condiments add to total added sugar consumption.The researchers hope the study will open consumers’ eyes to unexpected sources of fat and sugar, which add up over the day. 

Diets low in saturated fat and added sugar have been linked to improved health outcomes. For example, a study published last month linked a healthy diet with limited added sugar to lower biological age. 

Meanwhile, research has also confirmed the long-term health benefits of switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to one rich in plant-based unsaturated fat.  

US diet overview

The researchers also examined differences in the top sources of saturated fat and added sugar intake across age groups and racial and ethnic subpopulations — Mexican American, other Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian and other or multiracial. 

Susan Schembre, lead author and associate professor of oncology at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, underscores the importance of this analysis in developing more personalized health interventions. 

For example, while cheese is the largest contributor to saturated fat intake for the non-Hispanic White population (8.4%), the study finds that burritos and tacos contribute more to the fat intake for the Mexican American population (12.4%). 

Similarly, soft drinks contribute much more to added sugar intake among 19–30-year-olds (33.6%) than people over 70 (11.3%). 

Although NHANES data helps to understand nutrition in the US, the researchers note that food and drink sources of fat, added sugar and sodium are more efficient and effective for disease interventions. 

“Before you understand what you can intervene on, you must know what people are consuming,” explains Schembre.  

Sugar and fat intake

The analysis concludes that, on average, saturated fat constitutes at least 12% of daily calories and added sugar intake ranges from 14% to 16%. Dietary recommendations typically avoid significant contributors, such as pizza and ice cream. Taylor underscores that the study’s longer list may include some eye-opening contributors to consumers. 

“There are the foods that are higher in saturated fat and added sugar that are consumed frequently, and they get targeted, but there’s also that smaller cumulative effect of things that are generally perceived as healthy, but they’re all contributing just a little bit,” he explains. “And then when you top it off with some of those higher sources, it takes you over the threshold for that 10% of the day’s calories.” 

“We’re trying to hit the sweet spot of capturing the big front-seat items but also understanding those things that are stealthy contributors,” he concludes.