CURRENT TRENDS OF SUGAR CONSUMPTION IN DEVELOPING-SOCIETIES

This paper reviews recent data on sugar consumption in developing coun tries that may lead to a potential increase in caries prevalence. A se arch of the business, dental and nutritional literature was conducted through May 1995. There is evidence that sugar (sucrose) use was incre asing in China, India, and Southeast Asia. In South and Central Americ a (except Haiti) sugar use was either equivalent to or higher than tha t in most developed societies. In the Middle East, average sugar use w as higher than that of other developing areas. However, it was either lower than or equivalent to the levels reported by other developed cou ntries. Many central African countries consumed less than 15 kg of sug ar/person/year. Of particular concern is a rise in the consumption of sugar-containing carbonated beverages in a number of developing societ ies: China, India, Vietnam, Thailand. and other Southeast Asian countr ies are currently major growth markets for the soft drink industry. Co nsumption of high-sugar desserts and snacks may also be increasing in urban centers in some developing countries. To counteract the potentia l increase in the prevalence of dental caries in some developing count ries, preventive and oral health promotion programs should be planned and implemented. We contend that taxation of sugar-containing products as well as efforts to reduce the level of sugar consumption to ''safe '' levels may be impractical, and in most countries, cannot be support ed for political, economic, or health reasons. Instead, we recommend t hat collaboration be established between public health authorities and manufacturers/distributors of soft drinks and sweets in developing co untries to establish a dental health fund that could be used to suppor t caries preventive programs. The fund could be supported through dona tions from manufacturers based on the principle of the ''milli-cent'' (1 cent for every 1000 cents of sales). This minimal contribution woul d provide enough financial support for planning and implementing denta l preventive and restorative programs in developing countries.