A scoping review of epidemiological studies of sugar intake in Asian countries: comparison of dietary assessment methodology

Abstract

Several systematic reviews have focused on sugar intake (1,2) and its relationship with health issues (3,4) in mainly Western countries, not Asian counterparts with different dietary habits and disease structures. This scoping review aimed to show the overview of epidemiological studies of sugar intake in Asian countries, primarily focusing on the dietary assessment methodology for estimating sugar intake.Asystematic search was conducted to identify epidemiological studies estimating sugar intake in Asian countries using the PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection on 26 February 2021, with no restriction on publication date. The search strings used were related to sugar, dietary intake, and Asian countries. Inclusion criteria were: published in English; full-text articles in peer-reviewed journals; targeting habitants in Asian countries; estimating self-selected dietary intakes of sugar in participants; and assessing dietary intake using dietary assessment methods at individual level. Exclusion criteria were: reviews, case reports, proceedings, and abstracts; studies on the contents of sugar in food items or dishes; nonhuman studies; using food supply data; targeting Asian-origin population in Non-Asian countries; using only a biomarker for estimation of sugar intake; estimating dietary intake regulated for the purpose of experiment/treatment; and estimating intake of sugar as foods. Study quality was assessed