4364.0.55.011 - Australian Health Survey: Consumption of added sugars, 2011-12  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/04/2016  First Issue
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GLOSSARY

The definitions used in this survey are not necessarily identical to those used for similar items in other collections. Additional information is contained in the Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

24-hour dietary recall

This was the methodology used to collect detailed information on food and nutrient intake in the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS). The 24-hour dietary recall collected a list of all foods, beverages and dietary supplements consumed the previous day from midnight to midnight, and the amount consumed. For more information, see the 24-hour Dietary Recall chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

Added sugars

The definition for added sugars is based on the definition of ‘sugars’ in Clause 1 of Standard 2.8.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

“Sugars means –

    a) hexose monosaccharides and disaccharides, including dextrose, fructose, sucrose and lactose; or
    b) starch hydrolysate; or
    c) glucose syrups, maltodextrin and similar products; or
    d) products derived at a sugar refinery, including brown sugar and molasses; or
    e) icing sugar; or
    f) invert sugar; or
    g) fruit sugar syrup; derived from any source,

but does not include –
    h) malt or malt extracts; or
    i) sorbitol, mannitol, glycerol, xylitol, polydextrose, isomalt, maltitol, maltitol syrup or lactitol.”

Maltodextrin was not reported as part of total sugars in AUSNUT 2011-13 and thus could not be considered in this analysis. Honey, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates are not included in this Standard and as such were not considered ‘added sugars’ for this definition of added sugars.

For more information see: Developing the Added Sugars and Free Sugars datasets available from Food Standards Australia New Zealand http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/

Australian Dietary guidelines

The National Health and Medical Research Council 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines use the best available scientific evidence to provide information on the types and amounts of foods, food groups and dietary patterns that aim to:
    • promote health and wellbeing
    • reduce the risk of diet-related conditions
    • reduce the risk of chronic disease.

The Guidelines are for use by health professionals, policy makers, educators, food manufacturers, food retailers and researchers.
The content of the Australian Dietary Guidelines applies to all healthy Australians, as well as those with common diet-related risk factors such as being overweight. They do not apply to people who need special dietary advice for a medical condition, or to the frail elderly.

Australian Health Survey (AHS)

The Australian Health Survey 2011-13 is composed of three separate surveys:
    • National Health Survey (NHS) 2011-12
    • National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) 2011-12
    • National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) 2011-12.

In addition to this, the AHS Survey contains a Core dataset, which is produced from questions that are common to both the NHS and NNPAS. See The Structure of the Australian Health Survey for details.

Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM)

The method used to collect the 24 hour food recall in the 2011-12 NNPAS was the Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) developed by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ABS with assistance from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) adapted the AMPM instrument to reflect the Australian food supply. See the Users’ Guide for more information

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates usually provide the major part of energy in human diets. Carbohydrates are comprised of the elements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Data for total carbohydrates include starch, sugars and related substances (sugar alcohols and oligosaccharides). Sugar alcohols and oligosaccharides are included in 'Total carbohydrates' but not in starch and sugar sub-totals. Therefore, total carbohydrate does not always equal the sum of sugars and starch.

Day 1 / Day 2 intake

Day 1 intake refers to information collected from the first 24-hour dietary recall, while Day 2 refers to information from the second 24-hour recall. In the 2011-12 NNPAS, Day 1 intake information was collected from all respondents, with a second 24-hour recall (Day 2) collected from around 64% of respondents. Nutrient intakes derived from 24-hour recall data do not represent the usual intake of a person because there is variation in day-to-day intakes. The second 24-hour recall is used to estimate and remove within-person variation in order to derive a usual nutrient intake distribution for the population. Usual nutrient intakes represent intakes over a long period of time.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are sugars composed of two monosaccharides. Sucrose, maltose, galactose and lactose are examples of disaccharides.

Dietary energy

Dietary energy is measured in kilojoules (kJ) and consists of the energy provided by protein, fat, alcohol and carbohydrate (comprising sugars and starch). Small amounts of additional energy are from dietary fibre and organic acids.

Discretionary foods

The Australian Dietary Guidelines describes discretionary foods as being: “foods and drinks not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs, but that may add variety. However, many of these are high in saturated fats, sugars, salt and/or alcohol, and are therefore described as energy dense. They can be included sometimes in small amounts by those who are physically active, but are not a necessary part of the diet”. For more information, see the Discretionary Foods chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

Free sugars

Free sugars, as defined by the WHO, refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. For more information see WHO/FAO (2003) Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO Expert consultation

For information on the process for calculating free sugars for AUSNUT foods see Developing the Added Sugars and Free Sugars datasets available from Food Standards Australia New Zealand http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/

Intrinsic sugars

Intrinsic sugars are defined by the WHO as the sugars incorporated in the structure of intact fruit and vegetables. In this analysis, intrinsic sugars plus milk sugars are estimated from total sugars minus free sugars. See WHO Guideline http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/149782/1/9789241549028_eng.pdf

Lactose

Lactose is a disaccharide and is the sugar found naturally in milk products. Lactose is made up of two monosaccharides; glucose and galactose.

Margin of Error (MoE)

Margin of Error (MoE) describes the distance from the population value that the sample estimate is likely to be within, and is specified at a given level of confidence. Confidence levels typically used are 90%, 95% and 99%. For example, at the 95% confidence level the MoE indicates that there are about 19 chances in 20 that the estimate will differ by less than the specified MoE from the population value (the figure obtained if the entire population had been enumerated). In this publication, MoE has been provided at the 95% confidence level for proportions of persons and usual daily proportions of energy from macronutrients. For more information see the Technical Note of this publication.

Median

The median is the middle value in a set of observations. In this release, median usual intakes for each age and sex group are shown as the 50th percentile of the range of observations simulated by the NCI method.

Mean

The mean is the sum of the value of each observation in a dataset divided by the number of observations. This is also known as the arithmetic average. In this release, mean usual intakes for each age by sex group are calculated from the distribution of usual nutrient intakes simulated by the NCI method.

Milk sugars

Milk sugars are the natural sugars present in milk. In this analysis, intrinsic sugars + milk sugars are estimated from total sugars – free sugars.

Monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are the simplest forms of sugars. Examples are glucose (also sometimes called dextrose) and fructose.

National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS)

The National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey focused on collecting information on:
    • dietary behaviour and food avoidance (including 24-hour dietary recall)
    • selected medical conditions that had lasted, or were expected to last, for six months or more
            • cardiovascular and circulatory conditions
            • diabetes and high sugar levels
            • kidney disease
    • blood pressure
    • female life stages
    • physical activity and sedentary behaviour (including eight-day pedometer component)
    • use of tobacco
    • physical measurements (height, weight and waist circumference).

NCI method

The NCI method is a statistical model developed by the National Cancer Institute of the USA. In this publication, the model has been used to estimate the distribution of long term or usual intakes for each age and sex group, using the two days of dietary intake data for all respondents in that age and sex group. For more information, see the Overview of the NCI Method chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

Nutrient

Nutrients are chemical substances provided by food that are used by the body to provide energy, structural materials, and biochemical cofactors to support the growth, maintenance, and repair of body tissues. Major sources of nutrients are available in AHS: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12 (cat. no. 4364.0.55.007).

Nutrient Database (AUSNUT)

The Nutrient Database used to derive energy and nutrient estimates for the 24-hour dietary recall data was developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. See AUSNUT 2011-13.

Percentage contribution to energy intake

Percentage contribution to energy intake refers to the proportion of energy that a food or macronutrient contributes to each person's total energy intake. In the NNPAS, the energy from each macronutrient was estimated by multiplying each gram of a particular macronutrient by a conversion factor to determine the kilojoules of energy. For more information, see the Nutrient Intake chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001). For more information on the way in which percentage usual contribution to total energy intake has been calculated using the NCI method, see the Model implementation: data used and model specification chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

SEIFA

SEIFA is based on the 2006 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage. A lower quintile/decile (e.g. the first quintile/decile) indicates an area with relatively greater disadvantage and lack of advantage in general. A higher Index of Advantage and Disadvantage (e.g. the fifth quintile/tenth decile) indicates an area with relative lack of disadvantage and greater advantage in general.

Sucrose

Sucrose is a natural form of sugar found in many foods. It is also known as table sugar. Sucrose is a disaccharide comprising of glucose and fructose.

Total sugars

Total sugars are the sum of fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose and galactose.

Under-reporting

Under-reporting refers to the tendency (bias) of respondents to underestimate their food intake in self-reported dietary surveys. It includes actual changes in foods eaten because people know they will be asked about them, and misrepresentation (deliberate, unconscious or accidental), for example to make their diets appear more ‘healthy’ or be quicker to report. See the AHS Users’ Guide for more information.

Usual Intakes

Usual intakes represent food and nutrient intake over a long period of time. For a single person, dietary intake varies day-to-day. A single 24-hour dietary recall does not represent the usual, or long term, intake of a person because of this variation. In the 2011-12 NNPAS, all respondents were asked for follow-up contact phone details in order to conduct a second 24-hour recall over the phone at least eight days later. A second 24-hour recall was collected from 64% of respondents. The second 24-hour recalls were used to estimate and remove within-person variation in order to derive a usual nutrient intake distribution for the population.