Sugar in the diet of adolescents

Sugar and sweetened beverages are increasingly present in the nutrition of adolescents. Sugars added to food usually do not contain essential nutrients and inhibit the consumption of nutritionally rich foods. The aim of this diploma thesis is to determine how much sugar is present in the diets of adolescents, how and when most frequently adolescents eat sugar and whether the consumption of sweet foods among adolescents vary according to gender, age, and body weight. Data were collected using a questionnaire that was returned by 210 freshman and junior secondary school students attending Education Centre Novo mesto. The results showed that adolescents frequently consume chocolate, cookies, and chocolate spreads. One quarter of the respondents consumed these food types 5 to 6 times or more a week. Year of education and gender did not affect the frequency of eating sweets. However, gender revealed differences in the frequency of consumption of carbonated soft drinks and iced-tea. Adolescents consumed tea with sugar more often than tea without sugar. From sweetened beverages adolescents most often drank flavoured water. Flavoured water also was the drink that adolescents bought most frequently by themselves. Among adolescents with normal weight and those that were overweight, there were no differences in the frequency of consumption of sugary foods. Most often, the respondents consumed sugary foods at special occasions and at home. Boys, unlike girls drank more fluids per day, and they also drank more sweetened beverages. Quantity of fluid with added sugar represented half of the drinks they had during the day. Foods with high sugar content are commonly found in the diets of adolescents. To achieve dietary recommendations among adolescents, we have to inform young people about the effects of food and sweetened beverages on their health and we have to ensure adequate availability and accessibility of healthy foods