Diet is one of the main modifiable risk factors in the development of many chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD). Modern diet constitutes of a high proportion of ultra-processed pre-packaged foods with high energy density and low nutritional value. Processed and ultra-processed products are often characterized by a high free sugars content; hence, many public health organizations have issued guidelines on the upper acceptable free sugar intake. The purpose of the doctoral dissertation was to determine I.) the proportion of free-sugar containing prepackaged foods on the Slovenian market, their average free sugar content, and the proportion of total sugars they represent, II.) whether free sugars content in prepackaged foods decreased between 2015 and 2017 in accordance with industrial self-regulating commitments, and III.) to access average free sugars intake and its sources among Slovenian population (aged 10-74). Within the first section of the study, we created an extensive database of pre-packaged foods and calculated the corresponding free sugar content for every food item. The results showed that more than half of all pre-packaged products on the Slovenian market contained free sugars, while sales-weighted data revealed that the most important source of free sugars among pre-packaged foods were sugar-sweetened beverages and chocolate and sweets. A comparison of free sugar content in pre-packaged foods between 2015 and 2017 showed that industry self-regulations have a very limited impact on the amount of free sugars in key food categories. During the last part of the study, findings revealed that in 2017 Slovenian children still exceeded the upper recommended daily intake of free sugars.
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