Cross Sectional Survey on the Amount of Sugar Content in Cakes on Sale in Chennai and Its Correlation with Dental Caries

Abstract

Cakes are one of the most commonly consumed product by kids and adults and are consumed even more during special occasions. Packaged cake products have a lot of sugar content in them and sugar is one of the main factors causing dental caries in children. Keeping all this in mind this research was done to evaluate the correlation between the amount of cakes consumed and the incidence of dental craie in children. The data was collected from products packaging nutrition labelling provided by the company and also included the products name, pack weight, serving size, total sugars per 100 gms as well as per suggested serving size. A questionnaire was used to obtain the information on the correlation with dental caries. The data was collected and tabulated in excel sheet. The data analysis was done using SPSS software by IBM.  A total of 40 products were collected and tabulated. The average sugar content in cakes was 22.5 g. There was a large variation in sugar content between different cakes of the different categories within the same categories. Among the 40 products, 36 products showed a high sugar content when compared to the normal recommended dose for children. The study showed that the sugar content present in cakes was high and there can be a reduction in the amount of sugar present in it and thus reduce the risk of obesity and dental caries.