The impact of dietary sugars on risk of cardiometabolic risk and other disease states has been in debate for several decades. Review articles have highlighted the potential risk of fructose on cardiometabolic disease( Reference Stanhope 1 ) and a recent metaanalysis shows high fructose corn syrup in sweetened beverages probably increases the risk of type 2 diabetes( Reference Sonestedt, Overby and Laaksonen 2 ). Despite the continuing debate it is important to determine the amount of sugar in food eaten out of the home, which has increased over the last few decades. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study showed eating out of the home increases both sugar and fat intake( Reference Orfanos, Naska and Trichopoulou 3 ); however, the study did not focus on takeaway food from independent establishments. There are no data on the total sugar content of takeaway food from independent establishments in the UK. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyse total sugars from popular takeaway foods within various meal categories of independent establishments in Merseyside, UK. Samples of takeaway meals (n=400) were collected from small independent establishments and sent for analysis by an accredited public analyst laboratory. Total sugars were analysed in g/100 g and calculated g/meal. Meal categories were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results revealed a high variability in the amount of sugars within meals and showed a statistically significant difference between meal categories (p=0.000, Figure). Chinese meals showed the highest total sugars with up to 158.8 g per meal. When comparing the various types of cuisine some Chinese and Indian meals (E.G. Sweet & sour chicken/Chicken tika massala) would be classified as “Red” from the Food Standard Agency traffic light system (>12.5 g/100 g) (Figure 1).
Fig. 1. Total sugars of popular takeaway cuisine from various categories.
The current study shows that some Chinese and Indian popular takeaway meals are very high in sugar content. We have previously shown that certain takeaway food is high in salt( Reference Jaworowska, Blackham and Stevenson 4 ) and others have shown takeaway food to increase the risk of obesity and components of cardiometabolic risk. Further studies are needed to determine the type of sugar within takeaway food and to investigate consumption patterns of various populations.
