Sweeteners in non-alcoholic beverages on Slovenian market in 2017 and 2019

V raziskavi smo ugotavljali, kakšen delež brezalkoholnih pijač vsebuje sladila in ali se delež pijač z dodanimi sladili povečuje. Brezalkoholne pijače v vzorcu so predstavljale vse izbrane pijače, ki so bile na razpolago v času popisa v trgovinah petih največjih trgovskih družb v Sloveniji. V raziskavo smo vključili 1043 brezalkoholnih pijač iz leta 2017 in 1221 pijač iz leta 2019. Ugotovili smo, da vsaj eno sladilo vsebuje 13,2 % pijač v 2017 in 15,5 % pijač v 2019. Delež brezalkoholnih pijač s sladili se je med letoma nekoliko povišal, a razlika ni statistično značilna. Med pijačami se je uporaba sladil najbolj povečala v kategoriji energijskih pijač. Najpogosteje uporabljena sladila v letu 2017 so bila acesulfam K, aspartam in ciklamati, leta 2019 pa je močno narastla uporaba sukraloze, ki je postala drugo najpogosteje uporabljeno sladilo. V večini brezalkoholnih pijač s sladili so bile uporabljene zmesi več sladil. Kot samostojni sladili sta se uporabljali le sukraloza in steviol glikozidi. Zaradi pogostejše uporabe sukraloze v letu 2019, se je posledično v tem letu zvišala tudi uporaba samostojnih sladil. Raziskovali smo tudi energijsko vrednost pijač in vsebnost sladkorjev v pijačah, v povezavi z uporabo sladil. Rezultati so pokazali skoraj za polovico znižano energijsko vrednost pijač pri delnem nadomeščanju sladkorjev s sladili. Ob izključnem slajenju s sladili pa je bila razlika seveda še opaznejša. Primerjava z drugimi državami je pokazala, da je ponudba brezalkoholnih pijač na slovenskem trgu precej primerljiva s tujimi trgi, smo pa opazili nekoliko manjšo zastopanost pijač z dodanimi sladili. Trenutna ponudba brezalkoholnih pijač v Sloveniji in iniciative za zniževanje sladkorjev nakazujejo, da bi bilo ponudbo možno še izboljšati, pri čemer bi se bilo iz javno-zdravstvenih razlogov smotrno osredotočili tudi na javno ozaveščanje uživanja manj sladkih pijač in ne le nadomeščanju sladkorja s sladili.The aim of research was to evaluate what proportion of non-alcoholic beverages contains sweeteners and whether the proportion of these beverages is increasing. Non-alcoholic beverages in our sample represented all selected beverages that were available at the time of sampling in the stores of five largest retailers in Slovenia. The study included 1043 non-alcoholic beverages from 2017 and 1221 non-alcoholic beverages from 2019. We found out that sweeteners were present in 13,2 % of beverages in 2017 and 15,5 % of beverages in 2019. The percentage of non-alcoholic beverages with sweeteners slightly increased between the years, but the difference is not statistically significant. The use of sweeteners increased the most in energy drinks. The most commonly used sweeteners in 2017 were acesulfame K, aspartame and cyclamates. In 2019 the use of sucralose increased significantly, which became second most used sweetener that year. Beverages with added sweeteners in most cases contained sweeteners blends. Only sucralose and steviol glycosides were used alone. Due to the increased use of sucralose in 2019, the percentage of beverages with only one sweetener also increased that year. We also researched the energy value and sugar content of beverages, in connection with the use of sweeteners. The results showed an almost half reduction in the energy value of beverages when sugars were only partially replaced with sweeteners. In beverages sweetened only with sweetener the difference was, of course, even more noticeable. A comparison with other countries showed that the offer of non-alcoholic beverages on the Slovenian market is quite comparable to foreign markets, but we observed a slightly lower representation of beverages with added sweeteners. The current offer of non-alcoholic beverages in Slovenia and initiatives for the reduction of sugars indicate, that there is still room for new products with added sweeteners. It is also important to raise public awareness on the consumption of sugary drinks and not just replacing sugar with sweeteners

Dietary guidelines for dancers

Ples je ena izmed dejavnosti, ki se po svetu vedno bolj razvijajo. Ples je rekreativna in športna dejavnost, ki je pomembna za zdravje in aktiven življenjski slog. Aktiven življenjski slog in zdrava prehrana sta ključna dejavnika za preprečevanje kroničnih bolezni. Namen dela je bil ugotoviti, kakšno je prehransko stanje odraslih slovenskih plesalk in napisati za njih primerna priporočila. Za zbiranje podatkov smo uporabili vprašalnik o starosti, višini in telesni masi ter metodo jedilnika prejšnjega dne. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 30 aktivnih slovenskih plesalk v starosti od 18 do 28 let iz dveh različnih plesnih skupin in z Akademije za ples. Z uporabo Odprte platforme za klinično prehrano smo določili hranilno vrednost obrokov, ki so jih zaužile plesalke. Iz podatkov smo preračunali tudi indeks telesne mase, ki je pokazal, da ima večina plesalk normalno telesno maso, manjšina pa spada v skupino podhranjenih. Energijski vnos je bil v večini primerov prenizek, razmerje makrohranil pa dobro. Povprečno anketiranke zaužijejo preveč nasičenih maščobnih kislin in živalskih beljakovin ter premalo omega-3 maščobnih kislin in rastlinskih beljakovin. Veliko jih ima tudi povišan vnos prostih sladkorjev, ki ponekod precej presega dvakratni priporočeni dnevni vnos. Kot kritično hranilo se je pokazal vitamin D, ki ga anketirane plesalke uživajo le v sledovih.Dance is one of the activities that are growing all over the world. Dance is a recreational and sporting activity, which is important for health and an active lifestyle. An active lifestyle and healthy diet are key factors for preventing chronic diseases. The aim of assignment was to figure out the dietary intake of adult female dancers in Slovenia and to write down dietary guidelines for them. For data collection we used a questionnaire for age, height and weight and a method 24-hour dietary recall. In total 30 active Slovenian female dancers from two different dance groups and Dance Academy participated in this research. They were between 18 and 28 years old. Nutritional value of consumed food was evaluated with Open platform for clinical nutrition. From collected data we calculated body mass index which showed that most of respondents have normal body mass and the minority is in a underweight category. Results showed that most of respondents have lower energy intake than recommended. Nevertheless the proportion of macronutrients is almost perfect. In average respondents consume too much saturated fatty acids and animal proteins and not enough omega-3 fatty acids and plant proteins. A lot of them have high intake of free sugars, which in some cases exceeds the recommended daily intake twice. Vitamin D was shown as a critical nutrient, which the respondents consume in minimal amounts

Harmonised branded foods dataset for FNS Cloud case studies (2017-2020)

The dataset was compiled by merging and harmonisation of different datasets, which were compiled in four countries (Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland) in period 2017-2020 with the use of different methodologies. Dataset was prepared to support conduction of case studies within the HORIZON2020 FNS Cloud project. The dataset includes selected mandatory food labelling information about nutrition composition of foods/drinks within three categories, that are important for reformulation strategies: soft drinks, breakfast cereals and yoghurts

Trends in the Use of Low and No-Calorie Sweeteners in Non-Alcoholic Beverages in Slovenia

Excessive sugar intake and the associated increased obesity risk indicate that food reformulation is needed. Non-alcoholic beverages are often high in free sugars, making reformulation with low and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) a common choice. Our knowledge of the use of LNCS in the European food supply is, however, very limited. This study aimed to evaluate the trends in the use of LNCS in different non-alcoholic beverages in the Slovenian food supply over the course of two years. We assessed which LNCS are most used and how the use of LNCS affects energy and sugar content. We analyzed labeling information of non-alcoholic beverages in selected grocery stores, covering the majority of the Slovenian food supply. Selected grocery stores were located in the capital city (Ljubljana). LNCS were present in 13.2% and 15.5% of non-alcoholic beverages in the years 2017 and 2019, respectively. The use of LNCS has significantly increased only in energy drinks (p < 0.01). The most used LNCS in 2017 were acesulfame K, aspartame, and cyclamates. In 2019 the use of sucralose increased significantly (p < 0.01) to become the second most used LNCS. Energy and sugar content varied between subcategories, which depended on the presence of added sugar and LNCS. Comparison between the energy value and the presence of the LNCS showed an almost 50% lower energy content of beverages containing both added sugar and LNCS (E2017 = 92.8 kJ; E2019 = 96.2 kJ per 100 mL), compared with beverages with only added sugar (E2017 = 161.8 kJ; E2019 = 159.0 kJ per 100 mL). In beverages sweetened only with LNCS, the difference was even more noticeable (E2017 = 22.3 kJ; E2019 = 14.3 kJ per 100 mL). Results show that the use of LNCS can help producers reduce the energy value of non-alcoholic beverages. Still, compared to other countries, the offer of such products in the Slovenian food supply is relatively low. However, due to possible public health risks of excessive use of LNCS, producers should be further encouraged for reformulation and production of less sweet products without LNCS, enabling consumers to adapt to less sweet taste of beverages. Further monitoring of LNCS in the food supply is therefore recommended, preferably also with consideration of sales data