Consumption of Sweet Foods and Drinks

One in Three Australians Feel Guilty About Consumption of Sweet Foods and Drinks

Research released today shows that a third of Australians feel guilty about their intake of sweet food and drinks, and women are twice as likely as men to feel remorseful.

The study also showed that 38 percent of the population has attempted to give up sweet foods or drinks, with half of them finding it difficult to do so.

K. Dun Gifford, Founder of the Oldways Preservation Trust, a US based non-profit educational organisation and creator of the 'Managing Sweetness' 4 concept, says while these findings are significant, they are not surprising.

"What these results really demonstrate is the confusion amongst consumers over what is healthy," says Gifford. "From birth we are exposed to sugar in breast milk, and our preferences for sweetness are defined. However, the prevalence of health-based media, fad-diets, low-fat, low-sugar and diet food and drinks, means the public both here in Australia and around the world are being bombarded with conflicting messages," he added.

"By managing sweetness, we communicate that sugar is an important part of the human diet, and that the key, when it comes to sugar intake, is management not banishment."

Dun Gifford, who last week presented the keynote speech at the Adelaide Food Summit, commented further on the results of the study "What was really telling in this study was that 83 percent of Australians said they would prefer to have a moderate intake of sugar and fats in a balanced diet, rather than give them up completely."

"This indicates an urgent need to educate the Australian public on how to manage their sugar intake. Consumers need help in recognising their powerful urges for sweetness, and learning how to manage them in ways that encourage and enable them to eat and drink in healthy ways."

"In a society characterised by caloric excess and limited physical activity, good health depends on wise management of calories from all food and drink sources, coupled with wise lifestyle choices that include regular exercise. To us, the key is management, not banishment." He concluded.