Types and Amounts of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners Purchased by US Households: A Comparison of 2002 and 2018 Nielsen Homescan Purchases

Citation

Dunford, Elizabeth K.; Miles, Donna R.; Ng, Shu Wen; & Popkin, Barry M. (2020). Types and Amounts of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners Purchased by US Households: A Comparison of 2002 and 2018 Nielsen Homescan Purchases. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(10), 1662-71.e10. PMCID: PMC7529721

Abstract

Background: Purchases of foods containing non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) alone or in combination with caloric sweeteners (CS) has increased in recent years in the US. At the same time clinical evidence is emerging of different cardiometabolic effects of each NNS type.
Objective: To examine the prevalence and volume purchased of commonly-consumed types of NNS in packaged food and beverage products comparing 2002 and 2018 using data from nationally representative samples of US households.
Participants/Setting: Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panels; 2002 and 2018. Main outcome measures: Prevalence and volume of foods and beverages purchased containing CS, NNS, both CS and NNS, or neither CS nor NNS, as well as prevalence and volume of products containing specific NNS types. Statistical analyses performed: Differences examined using Students t -test, pvalue of <0.05 considered significant.
Results: Volume of products purchased containing CS decreased comparing 2002 and 2018 (436.6±1.6g/d to 362.4±1.3g/d; p<0.05), yet increased for products containing both CS and NNS (10.8g/d to 36.2g/d; p<0.05). Regarding specific types of NNS, changes were noted in the prevalence of households purchasing products containing saccharin (1.3% to 1.1%; p<0.05), aspartame (60.0% to 49.4%; p<0.05), rebaudioside-A (0.1% to 25.9%) and sucralose (38.7% to 71.0%). Non-Hispanic whites purchased twice the volume of products containing NNS compared to Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks in both years. Beverages were predominantly responsible for larger volume per capita purchases of products containing only NNS as well as both CS and NNS.
Conclusions: A decline in purchases of products containing CS occurred in tandem with an increase in purchases of products containing both CS and NNS, along with a large shift in the specific types of NNS being purchased by US households. New NNS types enter the market regularly, and it is important to monitor changes in the amount of NNS and products containing NNS that consumers purchase.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.04.022

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2020

Journal Title

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Author(s)

Dunford, Elizabeth K.
Miles, Donna R.
Ng, Shu Wen
Popkin, Barry M.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC7529721

Data Set/Study

Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panels

Continent/Country

United States of America

State

Nonspecific

ORCiD

Ng - 0000-0003-0582-110X
Popkin - 0000-0001-9495-9324
Miles - 0000-0001-9490-2096