Overview of sugars intake across European countries

Intakes represent total intake from all sources, except where otherwise stated. Reported intake is based on publicly available data compiled by Prof. I. Elmadfa and Dr. Alexa Meyer (University of Vienna), unless referenced otherwise. Data may not be comparable due to differences in methodology, year of study, age groups involved, and measurement taken.

Total sugars intake (E%± SD)

Belgium - Belgian National Food Consumption Survey 2014-2015 (2x24h recall & Food Frequency Questionnaire)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males, Females
3-5	27.5
6-9	25.5
10-13	23.9
14-17	22.7
18-39	20.2
40-64	18.8
Denmark ^a- Danskernes kostvaner 2011-2013 (7d food record)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males		Females
4-5	9 ± 3.7		9 ± 4.0
6-9	11 ± 4.6		10 ± 4.4
10-13	12 ± 4.6		11 ± 4.8
14-17	11 ± 5.4		11 ± 5.2
18-24	10 ± 6.5		11 ± 6.9
25-34	10 ± 5.7		9 ± 4.8
35-44	9 ± 5.7		9 ± 5.3
45-54	7 ± 4.9		8 ± 5.0
55-64	7 ± 4.7		7 ± 3.6
65-75	8 ± 4.9		8 ± 4.1
Estonia - Estonian National Dietary Survey 2014 (2/2x24h interviews)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides, g/day^b		Sucrose, g/day
	Males	Females	Males	Females
2 - 5	97.0	94.9	48.0	46.0
6 - 9	122.0	110.1	61.0	56.0
10 - 13	115.6	106.0	59.0	55.0
14 - 17	127.6	98.2	66.0	51.0
18 - 24	111.7	94.2	58.0	48.0
25 - 29	101.9	105.3	55.0	54.0
30 - 34	103.0	98.3	52.0	49.0
35 - 39	106.8	95.4	55.0	48.0
40 - 44	93.0	84.3	45.0	41.0
45 - 49	93.0	80.2	47.0	38.0
50 - 54	100.0	87.3	46.0	42.0
55 - 59	83.8	81.3	44.0	38.0
60 - 64	84.0	81.3	40.0	39.0
65 - 69	80.6	81.4	34.0	36.0
70 - 74	78.8	75.5	36.0	32.0
Ireland ^c- National Children’s Food Survey II 2017-2018 (4-day weighed food record) ( IUNA 2019 (pdf) ), National Teens’ Food Survey II 2019-2020 (4-day weighed food record) ( IUNA 2021 (pdf) ), National Adult Nutrition Survey II 2021-2022 (2 x 24-h telephone dietary recalls) ( IUNA 2024 (pdf) )
Age group (years)	Total sugars		Free sugars
	Males	Females	Males	Females
5 - 12	18.5 ± 4.1	18.9 ± 3.9	9.1 ± 3.3	9.8 ± 3.4
13 - 18	15.8 ± 4.1	15.7 ± 4.0	8.6 ± 4.1	8.5 ± 4.0
19 - 64	17.3 ± 4.1		Not reported
≥65	18.2 ± 4.1		Not reported
Spain ^d(Ruiz et al., 2017 ) - ANIBAS survey 2013 (3d record)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males		Females
9-12	9.9±4.1		9.6±3.8
13-17	9.6±4.6		10.8±4.2
18-64	7.0±4.8		7.3±4.5
65-75	4.8±3.1		5.4±3.7
France (pdf) ^e - Etude individuelle Nationale sur les Consommations Alimentaires (INCA) III 2014-2015 (24 h recall)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males		Females
0-11 months	37.9±2.7
1-3	30.3±4.0
4-6	26.7±5.5
7-10	24.2±5.3
11-17	21±4.8		21.5±5.3
18-44	19.7±5.6
45-64	17.8±5.9
65-79	18.4±6.7
Italy ^f - INRAN-SCAI 2005-2006 (3d food record)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males		Females
3-9.9	17.0 ± 5.0
10-17.9	15.4 ± 4.7		15.8 ± 5.2
18-64.9	13.5 ± 4.7		15.4 ± 5.1
≥65	13.3 ± 5.0		16.1 ± 5.4
Hungary ^a- National Dietary Survey by the Hungarian Food Safety Office (HFSO) 2009 (3 d food record)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males		Females
19-30	8.4 ± 5.1		8.9 ± 4.4
31-60	6.6 ± 4.2		8.1 ± 4.2
>60	6.4 ± 3.7		8.0 ± 4.2
Netherlands - Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2019 - 2021 (2x24h dietary calls)
Age groups (years)			Mono/Disaccharides, mean (95% confidence interval)
			Males	Females
1-3			26.7 (26.1-27.5)	26.9 (26.4-27.5)
4-11			23.5 (22.9-24.0)	23.7 (23.1-24.2)
12-17			20.6 (20.1-21.4)	21.0 (20.5-21.4)
18-50			17.2 (16.7-17.7)	18.2 (17.7-18.8)
51-64			16.8 (16.2-17.2)	18.0 (17.6-18.5)
65-79			17.6 (17.0-18.2)	19.2 (18.6-19.6)
Austria - Austrian Study on Nutritional Status (ASNS) 2012 (2x24h recall)
Age group (years)	Mono/Disaccharides		Sucrose
	Males	Females	Males	Females
7-9	21.8 ± 6.2	22.8 ± 5.6	11.6 ± 4.7	11.4 ± 3.3
10-12	21.2 ± 5.7	20.2 ± 5.9	10.4 ± 3.8	10.6 ± 5.0
13-14	20.6 ± 5.9	19.4 ± 5.9	10.0 ± 3.8	10.6 ± 4.0
18-24	19.0 ± 6.7	20.3 ± 6.2	9.7 ± 4.1	9.1 ± 3.8
25-50	19.3 ± 7.2	20.1 ± 6.7	10.1 ± 5.1	10.1 ± 4.5
51-64	15.6 ± 7.0	20.3 ± 6.5	7.6 ± 4.8	10.4 ± 3.7
65-80	16.7 ± 6.2	17.9 ± 6.7	8.0 ± 4.0	8.8 ± 4.3
Finland - National FINDIET 2012 Survey 2012 (48h recall)
Age groups	Sucrose
	Males		Females
25-64	9.2 ± 5.4		10.0 ± 5.5
65-74	8.9 ± 4.9		9.4± 4.9
Portugal ^g- National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity survey (IAN-AF) 2015-2016 (2x24h recall)
Age groups	Mono/Disaccharides
	Males, Females
<10	27.1
10-17	19.8
18-64	17.3
56-84	17.2
Slovenia - National Dietary Study SI.Menu 2017/18 (2x24h recalls)
Age groups (years)	Total sugars		Free sugars
	Males	Females	Males	Females
18-64	12.3 ± 5.6	15.8 ± 6.0	6.7 ± 5.4	7.1 ± 5.1
65-74	12.2 ± 5.8	16.3 ± 5.8	5.5 ± 4.1	6.7 ± 4.7
Sweden ^a- Riksmaten adults 2010-2011 (4d food record)
Age groups	Mono/Disaccharides		Sucrose
	Males	Females	Males	Females
18-30	9.8 ± 5.1	12.0 ± 4.9	7.6 ± 4.5	9.7 ± 4.1
31-44	9.5 ± 4.4	9.8 ± 5.0	7.1 ± 3.5	8.1 ± 3.8
45-64	9.1 ± 4.4	8.7 ± 4.2	7.1 ± 3.5	7.4 ± 3.5
65-80	9.2 ± 4.2	9.5 ± 4.4	7.1 ± 3.1	8.1 ± 3.4

^aadded sugars, ^b own calculation from adding sucrose, lactose, maltose, glucose, fructose, and galactose reported in the survey, ^cnon-milk total sugars, ^d free sugars, ^e simple sugars from sweetened foods, no SD given, ^f soluble carbohydrates, ^g simple sugars, food used for diaries for children<10 yr

Originally Published \| Last Updated	21 Nov 2020 \| 14 Jan 2026
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