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Study billions in dental treatment costs due to high sugar consumption
High sugar intake is associated with various health risks, and in particular the consequences for dental health should already be known to every elementary age child. A direct correlation between sugar consumption and the level of dental treatment costs has now been proven at national level. Billions of euros are therefore required each year in Germany for dental treatment, because the sugar consumption is too high.
People around the world eat too much sugar, which has negative consequences for their teeth and for their wallets, according to scientists from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Biotechnology Research and Information Network AG (BRAIN AG). Together, the researchers have investigated which treatment costs are incurred in the States worldwide as a result of excessive sugar consumption. Their findings were published in the journal "International Journal of Dental Research".
Too high sugar consumption causes tooth decay and billions of euros dental treatment costs. (Image: ia_64 / fotolia.com) 128 billion dental treatment costs worldwide
The total cost of dental treatment per year, according to the researchers to around 128 billion euros. In Germany alone, there are 17.2 billion euros annually. For their current study, the researchers evaluated "Representative data on incidence of caries, gingivitis (periodontitis) and tooth loss, related treatment costs and disease burden, and sugar consumption data in 168 countries for 2010," according to the MLU release.
Also considered hidden sugar
On the basis of the available data, the experts calculated the share of the total costs, which was caused by excessive sugar consumption. In addition to white table sugar, sugar consumption included the hidden sugar that is nowadays found in many processed products, such as beverages, ketchup, ice cream, frozen foods or baked goods.
Rising treatment costs with increasing sugar consumption
Study author Dr. Toni Meier from the MLU Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences emphasizes that the data show "a clear correlation between the consumption of sugar and the occurrence of tooth decay, periodontitis and, as a consequence, tooth loss". Per over-consumption of 25 grams of sugar per person per day - equivalent to about eight sugar cubes or a glass of sweetened lemonade - dental care costs in high-income countries have risen by an average of € 75 per person per year.
Germany with high dental treatment costs per capita
In this country, according to the researchers consumed on average between 90 and 110 grams of sugar per capita daily and the dental treatment costs amount to an average of 210 euros per person per year. This puts Germany in the group of countries with the highest treatment costs per capita and year, according to the MLU. Particularly high dental treatment costs were also reported in Switzerland (300 euros), Denmark (178 euros) and the USA (138 euros and 185 dollars, respectively).
Twelve billion euro savings potential
According to Dr. Meier "could save € 150 in treatment costs per person in Germany" if the World Health Organization's target of 50 grams of sugar per person per day were achieved. The projected extrapolated at the federal level "an annual savings potential of about twelve billion euros," emphasizes the study author. However, since almost all processed products in the supermarket contain large amounts of added sugar, it is becoming increasingly difficult to feed low in sugar. "In order to be able to reduce diet-related burden of disease, in addition to a balanced mix of educational work and nutritional approaches, innovative technological solutions are also needed," said the co-author of the study, Dr. med. Katja Riedel from BRAIN AG.
Contain sugar intake
The highest levels of sugar-related dental disease were found in Guatemala, Mauritania and Mexico, according to the researchers. Nutritionist Prof. dr. Gabriele Stangl of the MLU, co-author of the study, emphasizes that in emerging countries such as India, Brazil and Mexico, but also Pakistan and Egypt, excessive burden of disease and cost burdens on the health system could be avoided if the issue is addressed early in the health care and health care sectors Anchored in food policy. Here, awareness-raising campaigns or special taxes on high-calorie foods could be possible approaches to curbing sugar consumption. In Mexico, there has been such a sugar tax since 2014, which had already shown after a year clear effect: the amount of sugar-sweetened drinks consumed had fallen in the first year by five percent and in the second year, the value has doubled to ten percent. (Fp)