Establishment of Total Sugar Reference Value for Koreans

Sugars are a ubiquitous component of our food supply and are consumed as a naturally occurring component of many foods and as additions to foods during processing, preparation, or at the table. Most fruits and dairy products are high in sugars and thus naturally occurring sugars are consumed as part of a healthy diet. Some countries developed recommended daily intake figures(daily values : DVs or guideline daily amounts: GDA) for nutrients, and some countries, but not most have developed DV/GDA for total sugars. Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans established by the Korean Nutrition Society in 2005, did not include the reference values for total sugar or added sugar. The committee on Dietary Reference Intakes for sugar was constituted in 2006 and discussed whether to special added sugars or total sugar. Although added sugars are not chemically or physiologically different from naturally occurring sugars, many foods and beverages that are major sources of added sugars have lower micronutrient densities compared with foods and beverages that are major sources of naturally occuring sugars. But it was so hard to calculate a dietary intake of added sugar for Korean people, because there was insufficient information about contents of added sugar during processing or preparation of Korean food. Currently Korean or US food labels contain information on total sugars per serving but do not distinguish between sugars naturally present in food and added sugars. Therefore the committee decided to set the reference value for total sugar for Koreans. According to the recommended diet pattern for Koreans suggested by the Korean Nutrition Society, estimated sugar intake from the sugar containing food based on 2,000 kilocalories is 67 g or 13% of total energy. Based on the data available on risk of obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome from the analysis of Korean NHANES, it was insufficient evidence to set a UL for total sugar, but tended to increase serum LDL cholesterol and obesity at over 20-25% of energy from total sugar when consumed with high carbohydrates. Therefore the committee on Dietary Reference Intakes for sugar set the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for total sugar as 10-20% of total energy intake.

한국인 총당류 섭취기준 설정