Introduction:

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contain significant amounts of free sugars. SSBs consumption is strongly associated with overweight/obesity, dental caries, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses. The aim of this work was to evaluate the content of free sugars in Argentinian SSBs.

Methodology:

Fructose, glucose and sucrose concentrations were measured in 53 samples from carbonated and non-carbonated SSBs through colorimetric techniques; regular (n=26) and low-calorie (n=27) beverages, classified according to nutritional label, were included. The total amount of sugars was calculated and compared with the declared value.

Results:

Regular and low-calorie SSBs differ in their glucose, fructose and sucrose concentrations, but do not differ in their free fructose concentrations. Furthermore, SSBs display higher concentrations of fructose compared to glucose, with a fructose/glucose ratio of 1.45.

Conclusions:

Regular and low-calorie SSBs differ respect of the free fructose content. This study, also, provides evidence of the variability in sugar composition in similar beverages of different brands, which can be a confounding factor for consumers. Besides the importance of the sugar content of food, it is necessary to evaluate the other components present to assess comprehensively their nutritional quality.

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