LAUSR

Objectives Due to the adverse health effects of added sugar consumption, the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) have encouraged reduced intake of added sugars. While education is a key component of the DGA, no research has studied whether knowledge of the recommendations for added sugar is associated with decreased intake. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of parent and child knowledge of added sugar recommendations on added sugar intake in a sample of multiethnic 3rd to 5th grade students. Methods This study examined cross-sectional data from TX Sprouts, a 1-year cooking, gardening, and nutrition clustered randomized control trial. A sample of 685 children and one of their parents completed questionnaires to assess knowledge of added sugar recommendations. Two 24-hour dietary recalls were used to assess average child energy and added sugar intake. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between child and parent knowledge and a child's added sugar intake while controlling for child age, ethnicity, gender, and energy intake and parent ethnicity and gender. Results Only 38% of children were able to identify the correct recommendation for added sugar intake, compared to 46% of parents. Parent knowledge of the added sugar recommendation was associated with a lower intake of added sugar (40.1 vs 35.6 grams, P < 0.01). Child knowledge of the added sugar recommendation was associated with a lower intake of added sugar (39.9 vs 35.9 grams, P < 0.02). Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that knowledge of added sugar guidelines is associated with lower intake of added sugar. Nutrition education for children and their parents should focus on increasing knowledge of national guidelines and recommendations to improve dietary intake and overall health. Funding Sources This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.