High Added Sugars Intake among US Adults: Characteristics, Eating Occasions, and Top Sources, 2015-2018

The 2020−2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends less than 10% of total daily calories come from added sugars. However, many adults overconsume added sugars putting them at risk for poor health outcomes. We examined characteristics of high added sugars consumers among US adults (≥20 years) and described their top 10 sources of added sugars intake using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015−2018 data (n = 9647). We defined high consumers as consuming >15% of daily calories from added sugars (1.5 times higher than the DGA). We used the National Cancer Institute method to estimate usual intake of energy and percent of calories from added sugars. Top 10 sources were identified based on their percentage contribution to total added sugars intake on a given day. T-tests were used to examine differences by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and weight status. Overall, mean usual total energy intake and added sugars intake was 2068 kcal/day and 264 kcal/day, respectively, and 30% of adults were classified as high consumers. The prevalence of high added sugars consumers was significantly higher among 20−30-year-olds (29%), 31−50-year-olds (33%), and 51−70-year-olds (29%) than those aged ≥70 years (22%); non-Hispanic Black (39%) and non-Hispanic White (31%) adults than Hispanics (26%); adults with