Six in ten adults in the Republic of Moldova are overweight, while one fourth of the population is obese, the National Public Health Agency (NPHA) declared. In this connection, specialists of the Agency recommend reducing the intake of sugar, especially the use of sugar-sweetened beverages and candies from presents. According to doctors, the moderate consumption of sugar reduces the risk of appearance of such diseases as diabetes and myocardial infarction, IPN reports.
According to the report “Prevalence of noncommunicable disease risk factors in the Republic of Moldova, 2021” that was launched on December 15, 2022, 63.9% of the adults in the country are overweight, while 22.7% are obese. The average values of the abdominal circumference – 87.3 cm for women and 93.6 cm for men – point to a high risk of appearance of metabolic complications, such as arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, heart attack or diabetes.
The World Health Organization said excessive sugar consumption is a key factor in promoting overweight and obesity, tooth decay and diabetes. There is increasing concern that intake of free sugars – particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages – increases overall energy intake and may reduce the intake of foods containing more nutritionally adequate calories, leading to an unhealthy diet, weight gain and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases.
Another concern is the association between intake of free sugars and tooth decay. Dental diseases are the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases globally and, although great improvements in prevention and treatment of dental diseases have occurred in the past decades, problems still persist, causing pain, anxiety, functional limitation, including poor school attendance and performance in children, and social impediment through tooth loss.
Specialists recommend that the adults and children should reduce their intake of sugar to less than 10% of their total daily energy intake. On average, this equals about 12 teaspoons (50 grams) of sugar per day for an adult.
