Tue Sep 9

Latest data suggests Australia is overcoming its sugar addiction

Written by: Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

Australia is now meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines ^[1] on sugar, which recommend keeping sugar below 10% of daily energy intake.

New data ^[2] published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows there is less sugar in our diet from food and drinks than three decades ago.

In 1995, sugar – either ^[3] added to foods or drinks by manufacturers, or found naturally in honey and fruit juices – made up about 12.5% of the energy (or kilojoules) we ate each day. This dropped to 10.9% in 2011–12 and then to 8.2% in 2023, even though our energy intake from all food and drink was down ^[4] by less than 5%.

Importantly, we are now drinking far fewer sugary drinks than we were in the past. This includes ^[5] drinks sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners, or both, such as soft drinks, cordials, fruit juices and energy drinks.

In 2011–12, around 42% of us had at least one of these drinks daily. By 2023, this fell to under 29%.

In 1995, almost three in four children (72%) drank a sugary drink every day. By 2023, this had dropped to just one in four (25%).

So, what’s behind this trend? And will it continue? Let’s take a look at the data.

Why the fuss about sugar?

We have known for a long time that having a lot of sugar is not ideal for our health. Sugary drinks and foods are considered discretionary ^[6] or “sometimes” foods, because they provide little nutritional benefit while contributing excess energy or “empty calories” to our diet.

Having a lot of sugar in our diet can increase our risk ^[7] of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. Sweetened drinks don’t fill us up like regular meals, making it easy to underestimate the energy being consumed.

Most soft drinks contain ^[8] about 40 grams (ten teaspoons) of sugar per serve, close to the daily recommended limit ^[9]. Energy drinks may contain up to double that amount, while sports drinks may contain slightly less.

Three decades of data

The ABS asked whether people had drunk sugary drinks the day before, as well as collecting data about their daily diets. Here are some key takeaways:

between 1995 and 2023, there was a 65.28% drop in the proportion of children drinking sugary drinks
the number of adults drinking sugary drinks fell from 40.2% in 2011–12 to 29.9% in 2023
but adults still consume about 5% more sugary drinks than children
on average, Australians have less sugar in their diet than they did a decade ago.

This change isn’t just about soft drinks. We’re also reducing ^[10] the amount of sugar in our tea and coffee, eating fewer lollies and desserts, and reaching for fruit juice a little less often.

Some of the most significant changes have been in Australian children. In the mid-1990s, children were getting almost one-fifth of their daily energy from sugar. Today that figure is closer to only one-eighth ^[11], and our overall energy intake is quite similar.

What’s behind the change?

The new data suggests that efforts from individuals, families, communities and some food manufacturers to reduce sugar ^[12] intake over the past few years may be working.

This drop in sugary drinks may reflect a growing awareness of the negative effects of sugar due to social media campaigns ^[13], as well as clearer labelling ^[14] on food and beverage products, increased public messaging ^[15], and industry changes, such as more brands offering lower-sugar alternatives.

But progress is only part of the story

Even though people are consuming less sugar, obesity rates continue to climb ^[16] in kids and adults.

Researchers suggest this shows sugar is just one part of the story and that overall diet quality ^[17] and broader eating patterns also play a big role in our health, rather than focusing on sugar alone.

Discretionary foods ^[18] – including snacks, chips, convenience meals, chocolate and other highly processed foods – still make up around a third (31.3%) of the average Australian diet.

This means many of us are still regularly having sweet drinks and highly processed foods. Overall, these foods chip away at Australia’s recent progress by offering new and different sources of added sugars and excess energy that are still considered empty calories and carry their own health risks with little nutrition.

What should we do next?

The new data shows signs of real improvement in tackling the amount of sugar in our diets. But we aren’t in the clear yet.

To turn these positive trends about sugar into sustained improvements, we need to consider:

stronger government action to support all communities in tackling ^[20] broader challenges in the food system, such as food insecurity ^[21] and limited access to healthy food ^[22], often leading to people eating more highly processed foods
policies such as sugary drink taxes (used abroad with success ^[23]), restrictions on marketing junk food to kids, and clear front-of-pack labels
more incentives for industry to reformulate ^[24] products to lower-sugar options where possible
education campaigns ^[25] to help communities and schools where high-sugar habits remain common learn about healthy alternatives without shame and stigma
further data collection, so we can understand where sugar in diet comes from, beyond sugary drinks.