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INTRODUCTION

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The American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibit 2000 had hundreds of food products to view. Would they be a trend or fad? According to Webster's dictionary and Marion Spears a trend is a prevailing tendency or style that is influenced by current conditions and change and grow as they mature. A fad is a temporary fashion, often followed enthusiastically by a group and the fleeting interest adds excitement by is not sustained.

At the opening session of the conference, "Taste Tomorrow. Food and Nutrition in the 21st Century", Jane White, PhD, RD, FADA, LDN President of ADA described how members and the Association are proactively looking toward a future bursting with opportunities and possibilities. The Exhibition was bursting with new millennium food products and nutrition trends about which dietetic practitioners must be cognizant for application into nutrition therapy provided to our customers.

Because of increased health and nutrition concerns, the market for reduced-calorie foods has expanded greatly in the recent years, thus increasing the demand for new alternative sweeteners and fats. In the October issue of Food Service Director, editor/publisher Walter J. Schruntek discussed what we eat and reminds us Taste has always ruled the menu-and the taste profile is broader and more varied today. The new demographics dictate menu change at a faster rate than ever before. The trick is to decipher customer wants and needs and today more crucial than ever, the bottom line is that new kinds of benchmark tracking are vital to sound foodservice business operations.

Practitioners need to be aware of the advantages, concerns, acceptability and feasibility of these new products to best advise the public. Product testing should be a standard of practice. A poster session at ADA, "Effects of Substituting Sucrolose on the Physical and Sensory properties of Chiffon Cake" the authors reported acceptability of using Splenda to replace sugar in equal volume. There was no significant differences in overall preference as assessed by descriptive testing. The sucrolose cakes were shorter, firmer and less tender. A letter to the editors of JADA, September 1998 was titled, "Sounding the alarm for misuse of Olestra-containing foods in binge eating disorders." The dietitians that authored the letter hailed the advance in food technology and had no doubts about nontoxicity or non carcinogenicity of Olestra but they voiced concern about potential misuse of this type of food by persons with bulimia and other binge-eating disorders. The use of fat-free foods allows them to feel less guilt and provides some self-justification for their behavior because they select a 'healthful' food. Not only do these foods provide no energy from fat, they also are perceived as a method of purging due to a laxative effect.

We are well aware of the importance of diabetes as a health problem, and a recent flurry of news activity was stimulated by a study in the September issue of Diabetes Care from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that reported a 1998 survey found the prevalence of people over age 18 diagnosed with diabetes is 65 per 1,000 in the United States, or in other words, 6.5 percent of the population has diabetes. What is alarming, however, is the fact that this is a 32% increase in the past 8 years. The increase occurred in every state, ethnic group, and all ages. The biggest percent increase occurred in the younger age groups, with a 40% increase in 40-49 year olds and a 70% increase in 30-39 age group. Since genetics can't change in such a short period of time the environmental factors including increased food intake is the culprit. Therefore, driving the demand for sugar free products, is the awareness of average body weight increased by 8 pounds in the same time span.

Sweeteners have been used for food since pre-historic times, probably beginning with the discovery of honey. Today, some type of sweetener is found in most people's diets. From disappearance data, published by the USDA, it is apparent that the consumption of refined (cane and beet) sugar in the U.S. rose through 1925 and then remained stable at about 100# per person per year until 1970. In the 70s a decline in cane sugar accompanied a rise in corn sweeteners (high-fructose corn syrup). By 1985 consumption of refined and corn sweeteners rose to 65# per person per year for each! Since 1986 intake of refined sugar increased about 4# due to bakery and cereal products. America's taste for candy has also returned. People without a sweet tooth are rare. Our preference for sweets is thought to be a basis survival adaptation.

Although sugar has been used to sweeten foods for decades, concerns about calorie excess and tooth decay sparked the desire for alternatives. A 1994 survey by the Calorie Control Council revealed that up to 90% of adult Americans enjoy low-cal, sugar-free, and reduced-fat foods and beverages on a regular basis. It is interesting to note the use of non-nutritive sweeteners does not necessarily decrease the amount of sugar in the diet. More than half of American adults are overweight or obese.

Consumer Magazines Digest, October 2000 issue by Consumer Choices, Inc. Kristen McNutt, PhD, J.D. sited an article in the November Woman's Day discussing the dramatic increase in type 2 diabetes, that is being diagnosed at a younger age. The rate in children has risen from 1-2% (used to be primarily type 1) to 20-30%. The doctor, Loraine Stern pointed to the increase in obesity and sedentary lifestyle as clear causes.

Much research is needed to define determinants and develop new approaches to treatment and prevention. Will new sugar substitutes help? It is understandable that people with diabetes worry more about sugar than about any other food. For centuries, sugar has been considered the enemy, the worst possible thing people with diabetes could consume. Why? The very name of the disease, for one thing. For years diabetes mellitus was commonly referred to as "sugar diabetes". Mellitus roughly tanslates as "sweet".

The ADA has taken a position that there is an appropriate use for non-nutritive, as well as nutritive sweeteners when they are consumed in moderation and within the context of a diet consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To produce acceptable products with little or no sugar, high-intensity sweeteners and/or low-calorie bulking agents must be used.

Weight Watcher's magazine Sept/Oct, 2000 issue included an article "Sweet Nothings?" reporting saccharin has been dropped from the government's list of cancer-causing chemicals. Karen Miller-Kovach, M.S., R.D., Chief Scientist for Weight Watcher's International said, "In theory food made with sugar substitute should aid in weight loss because of calorie savings. But when people drink and eat artificially sweetened foods and beverages they tend to make up the calories by eating more."

References and Resources

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http://www.joslindiabetescenter.org/news/risingtide.html
http://www.ific.org
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes
http://www.eatright.org
WebsterÍs New Universal Unabridged Dictionary. New York: Barnes & Noble Books; 1996
Spears MC. Foodservice Procurement Purchasing for Profit. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill; 1999
Bennion M, Scheule B. Introductory Foods. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2000
Duffy VB, Anderson GH. Position of the American Dietetic Association. Use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. J Am Diet Assoc. 1998;98(5):580-587

This site was developed by Connie McLellan, RD. LD. Oregon State University, Graduate Student Dietetic Management Distance Program

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Updated: Sunday, March 30, 2008.