New markers of dietary added sugar intake

Purpose of reviewAdded sugar consumption is associated with adverse health outcomes, including weight gain and cardio-metabolic disease, yet the reliance on self-reported methods to determine added sugar intake continues to be a significant research limitation. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the development of two potential predictive biomarkers of added sugar intake: C-13 and urinary sugar excretion.Recent findingsThe results of numerous cross-sectional investigations have indicated modest associations of the C-13 sugar biomarker measured in a variety of sample types (e.g., fingerstick blood, serum, red blood cells, and hair) with self-reported added sugar and sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and C-13 values have been reported to change over time with changes in reported sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Results from large-scale trials have suggested modest associations of urinary sugar excretion with reported sugar intake, and a dose-response relation has been demonstrated between urinary sugar excretion and actual sugar intake.SummaryValid markers of sugar intake are urgently needed to more definitively determine the health consequences of added sugar intake. Adequately powered controlled feeding studies are needed to validate and compare these two biomarkers of sugar intake, and to determine what individual characteristics and conditions impact biomarker results.