Information on consumption of sugar-sweetened and intense-sweetened beverages in Australia
These statistics form part of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) which ran from January 2023 to March 2024. More information on other topics of interest from the survey are available on the NNPAS 2023 page.
This statistical release was previously included on the Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results – Foods and Nutrients page.
Some non-alcoholic beverages that are high in sugar and low in essential nutrients are commonly termed ‘sweetened beverages’. They may take the place of other more nutritious beverages in the diet and at the same time contribute to adverse health outcomes (such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes)[1].
Sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, cordials and energy drinks are classified as ‘discretionary foods’. The 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, and swapping them for other beverages, such as water or unsweetened iced tea[1].
In 2023, three in ten (28.9%) people consumed sweetened beverages, which included:
Overall, the proportion of people who consumed sweetened beverages has decreased over time, from 49.2% in 1995 to 28.9% in 2023. The proportion of people who consumed:
Males were more likely to consume sweetened beverages than females in 2023 (33.4% compared to 24.5%). However, when broken down by age:
Sugar-sweetened and intense-sweetened beverages had different consumption patterns across age groups. Children aged 12–17 years (33.9%) and young people aged 18–29 years (31.3%) were most likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages, with consumption rates decreasing across older age groups.
Consumption of intense-sweetened beverages was highest among people aged 30–49 years (13.1%) and 18–29 years (12.0%), with progressively lower consumption rates across both younger and older age groups.
The average daily consumption of sweetened beverages was 159 mL, which included:
For those who reported consumption of sweetened beverages, the median volume consumed was 375 mL which is the equivalent to one can of soft drink.
Nearly one in four (23.8%) people consumed soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters, which were the most popular sweetened beverages in 2023. This was followed by:
The proportion of people who reported that they consumed sweetened beverages has changed over time. The proportion consuming electrolyte and energy drinks, and fortified waters increased from 0.9% in 1995 to 3.3% in 2023. However, between 1995 and 2023, the proportion of people who consumed:
In contrast, the proportion of people who reported that they consumed fruit and vegetable drinks remained steady between 1995 and 2011–12 (9.5% and 10.1%) and then decreased to 1.1% in 2023.
When considering changes over time, it is useful to consider both changes in consumption patterns and changes in reporting behaviour. For example, people may confuse fruit and vegetable juices (most do not contain added sugar) and fruit and vegetable drinks (which include added sugar and preservatives) when reporting what they drink. For more information, see IHMHS: Concepts, Sources and Methods.
Overall, males were more likely than females in 2023 to consume:
Additionally, patterns of consumption varied by age and type of drink. The proportion of people who consumed soft drink and flavoured mineral waters:
Adults aged 18–29 years were more likely to consume electrolyte and energy drinks, and fortified waters (7.9%) than people in any other age group. This was driven by the higher consumption of energy drinks by adults aged 18–29 years (5.8%).
Over time, consumption of soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters decreased from 29.1% of people in 2011–12 to 23.8% in 2023. This decrease in consumption was recorded for people in all age groups under the age of 50. Apparent changes over time for people aged 50 years and over were not statistically significant.
People living in areas of most disadvantage were more likely to consume sweetened beverages than people living in areas of least disadvantage (31.9% compared to 24.9%) in 2023. Additionally, people living in areas of most disadvantage were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages than people living in areas of least disadvantage (25.0% compared to 17.5%). However, there was no difference for intense-sweetened beverages (8.4% for both).
The main contributor to the difference in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by areas of disadvantage was soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters – a higher proportion of people living in areas of most disadvantage (27.1%) consumed these drinks compared to areas of least disadvantage (20.3%). There was no difference in the proportion of people who consumed fruit and vegetable drinks, and electrolyte and energy drinks, and fortified waters between areas of disadvantage. The difference in consumption of cordials was negligible, with less than one in twenty (5.0%) people living in each area of disadvantage consumed cordials.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a commonly used measure for defining whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. In the 2023 NNPAS, respondents’ height and weight were measured to determine their BMI score. In 2023, 37.5% of respondents did not have their height and/or weight measured. For these people, height and weight were imputed. For more information see methodology.
Although BMI can be a useful measure for identifying overweight and obesity at a population level, this measure does not necessarily reflect body fat distribution or the same degree of body fat in different individuals[2]. In addition, a correlation between two factors does not confirm a direct cause of chronic disease, and health and wellbeing is influenced by a range of factors.
Among people in different BMI ranges, consumption of sweetened beverages was highest for people who were obese (35.9%), followed by people who were overweight (28.7%) and those in the underweight or healthy weight range (23.6%). People who were obese were more likely than people who were overweight or people who were underweight or in the healthy weight range to consume both:
People who were obese were more likely than people who were overweight and people who were underweight or in the healthy weight range to consume soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters (30.1% compared to 23.6% and 19.3%).
The proportion of people who consumed electrolyte and energy drinks, and fortified waters and fruit and vegetable drinks was similar between BMI ranges.
One quarter (25.4%) of all free sugars were consumed from sweetened beverages in 2023. Additionally, one fifth (20.1%) of all free sugars came from soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters alone.
The proportion of free sugars from sweetened beverages was similar for male and female children (21.3% and 18.5%). However, among adults, sweetened beverages contributed a higher proportion of free sugars intake for males than for females (30.1% compared to 23.0%).
The contribution to free sugars intake from sweetened beverages increased with age among children:
Among adults, the contribution to free sugars intake decreased with age, from 35.1% for people aged 18–29 years to 14.0% for people aged over 75 years.
On average, people consumed 11 g of free sugars from sweetened beverages daily, which is around 2.5 teaspoons of sugar[5]. People aged 18–29 years (19 g) and children aged 12–17 years (18 g) consumed more free sugars from sweetened beverages daily than any other age group.
Caffeine is a stimulant that can occur naturally in food and beverages like tea and coffee, but may also be added to soft drinks, energy drinks, and electrolyte drinks[6].
On average, people consumed 12 mg of caffeine daily from sweetened beverages, three quarters (9 mg) of which was from soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters. Caffeine from sweetened beverages contributed to 7.7% of the total caffeine intake in 2023.
Overall, children had a lower total daily intake of caffeine than adults (22 mg compared to 186 mg). Although children also had a lower amount of caffeine sourced from sweetened beverages than adults (7 mg compared to 13 mg), the contribution to total caffeine intake from sweetened beverages was higher (34.1% compared to 6.9%) as adults were more likely to source caffeine from other beverages such as tea and coffee. For more information on caffeine intakes, see Food and nutrients.
Over time, the proportion of total caffeine from sweetened beverages decreased slightly from 8.7% in 2011–12 to 7.7% in 2023. The decrease in the proportion of total caffeine intake from intense-sweetened beverages (3.5% to 2.8%) contributed to this overall decrease. Caffeine from sugar-sweetened beverages has remained steady (5.2% in 2011–12 compared to 4.9% in 2023).
See National Nutrition and Physical Activity 2023 data downloads for the full suite of available data. Data relating to sweetened beverages can be found in tables:
See National Nutrition and Physical Activity 2023 media release for more information.
Includes:
The data available includes estimates for Australia.
The National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.