Excessive consumption of sugar has been linked to higher rates of obesity, clinical depression and tooth decay. Many people, particularly in the US, consume too much sugar. In a Euromonitor study of 54 countries, the US ranked #1 in sugar consumption. US consumers on average consume 126 grams of sugar per day, more than twice the recommended daily amount.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended reducing “free sugar” intake to less than 10% of total calories or about 50 grams of sugar a day in March 2015. Free sugars are sugars added to foods, including naturally occurring sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice, not the sugar contained in whole fruit, fresh vegetables and milk.
Frozen yogurt often positions itself as a healthy snack but the reality is that frozen yogurt in the US contains roughly 20 grams of sugar per 4 oz. serving. With the average serving size of 8 ounces, that’s 40 grams before taking into account any toppings.
On average, frozen yogurt in the US contains about 20 to 24 grams of sugar per 100 grams. In contrast, 100 grams of Llaollao’s natural frozen yogurt has 11 grams of sugar. Llaollao is a leading frozen yogurt chain from Spain.
Americans Are Interested in Avoiding Total Sugars
There are signs that American consumers are ready for and want less sugar. Mintel Research Consultancy explored consumer attitudes (2013) and found that when asked about the 12 highest volume food and beverage categories, between 21-60% of respondents were concerned about total sugars. They also found consumers weren’t as concerned about the types of sweeteners as they were about avoiding total sugars when making food and beverage decisions. Beneo conducted consumer research with a representative sample of 1,000 consumers in the US in 2013 and found that 63% of respondents try to limit sugar in their daily diets. They considered “sugar-reduced” a buzzword of 2014.
Yoplait recently reduced the amount of sugar in Yoplait Original by 25% and increased the protein content. They did not add high intensity sweeteners.
According to San Francisco based Registered Dietitian Merle Kuo (MS, RD), “Any time you can use less sugar in a food product it’s all good for the consumer. We all know we have an obesity problem in the US. Frozen yogurt is supposed to be a healthy alternative to other frozen desserts (e.g., ice cream), and frozen yogurt shops have an opportunity to make frozen yogurt even healthier by reducing the amount of sugar.”
Frozen yogurt cannot be completely sugar free because milk contains sugar. No sugar added frozen yogurt, which has about 7 grams of sugar per half a cup (96 grams) is typically sweetened with alternative sweeteners such as Splenda. NSA frozen yogurt still tastes as sweet as regular frozen yogurt.
Kuo’s opinion on sugar alternatives is that “sugar substitutes are better than regular sugar because they don’t add calories to your diet and won’t raise blood sugars.” She warns that “this doesn’t mean one can have a “bottomless” intake of sugar-free foods because these items take the place of more nutritious foods that people could otherwise be consuming.”
Why not offer frozen yogurt that tastes less sweet and tastes more like natural yogurt? It’s time for the frozen yogurt shops in the US to offer a low sugar option and to make frozen yogurt an even healthier snack.
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