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Associations between attitudes towards and reported intakes of sugars, low/no-calorie sweeteners, and sweet-tasting foods in a UK sample.

Tang, C. S., Mars, M., James, J. and Appleton, K. M., 2024. Associations between attitudes towards and reported intakes of sugars, low/no-calorie sweeteners, and sweet-tasting foods in a UK sample. Appetite, 194, 107169.

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DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107169

Abstract

Public health initiatives are currently aiming to lower free sugar intakes for health benefits, but attitudes towards sugars, their alternatives such as low/no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS), and towards sweet-tasting foods may be hampering efforts. This work investigated associations between attitudes towards and the reported intakes of sugars, LNCS and sweet-tasting foods, and identified latent attitude profiles in subpopulations of adults in the United Kingdom. A total of 581 adults completed a questionnaire assessing their usual intake of sugars, LNCS and sweet-tasting foods, attitudes towards these foods and various demographic characteristics. Six principal components explained 39.1% of the variance in the attitude responses, named: 'Personal Impact', 'Personal Management', 'Apathy', 'Negativity', 'Perceived Understanding' and 'Perceived Nonautonomy'. Personal Impact was negatively associated with reported consumption of sugar-food and sweet-tasting food groups more frequently (smallest β = -0.24, p < .01). Personal Management was positively associated with reporting adding sugar and consuming sugar-food and sweet-tasting food groups more frequently (smallest β = 0.14, p < .01). Three latent classes of participants with distinct patterns of attitudes were identified, labelled: 'Feeling Ill-equipped' (n = 52), 'Actively Engaged' (n = 162) or 'Unopinionated' (n = 367). Individuals who were classed as Actively Engaged reported adding LNCS more frequently than those classed as Feeling Ill-equipped (t(212) = -2.14, p<.01), who reported consuming sweet-tasting food groups more frequently than those classed as Unopinionated (t(417) = 2.65, p < .01). These findings suggest the need for personalised approaches within public health initiatives, to reduce free sugar intakes.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0195-6663
Uncontrolled Keywords:Attitudes; Dietary intake; Latent profile analysis; Low/no-calorie sweetener; Sugar; Sweet taste
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:39322
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:03 Jan 2024 11:34
Last Modified:03 Jan 2024 11:34

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