Fluoride and sugar intake among adults and youth in Mauritius: preliminary results

The potential use of different vehicles for delivering fluoride to prevent dental caries has been discussed recently in Mauritius. Water fluoridation was found not to be feasible, and extending the fluoride tablet program would not be easy. Thus, sugar fluoridation as one possibility was considered. For these purposes, the average fluoride and sugar intake was estimated in Mauritius. The results are based on two studies--a Survey on Diet, Health and Lifestyle of Youth in Mauritius (1990) and the Mauritius Diet and Health Survey. Information was collected by trained interviewers using food-frequency and 24-hour-recall questionnaires. The daily total sugar intake, manufactured and natural, was found to be 62 g per day in young people and 50 g per day in adults. In the younger groups, daily frequencies of raw sugar, sweets, and biscuit (cookie) consumption were 1.5, 0.2, and 0.2 times a day, respectively. For adults, the mean daily frequency of consuming sugar-containing foods was 2.6 (SD = 1.3). The daily sucrose intake was rather high, representing about 10% of the daily energy intake. The fluoride levels of foods were calculated by use of Finnish and other available fluoride tables. The mean fluoride intakes per day were 0.64, 0.72, and 0.62 mg per day for 8-17-year-, 18-24-year-, and 30-64-year-old groups, respectively. The median fluoride intake for the oldest group was 0.62 mg/day. The estimated fluoride intake from food did not correspond with the proposed level for the prevention of caries (Murray, 1986) except for the 18-24-year-olds, where it might have been just above the lower recommended limit. However, further data based on analysis of the fluoride contents of Mauritian food samples, especially of whole daily diet, are needed.