Background
The consumption of free sugars has been linked to overweight and obesity, which affects nearly 40% of the global adult population as well as millions of children, and in turn diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which are the leading causes of death worldwide. In response, WHO has issued recommendations to limit free sugars intake, and various actions are being taken to reduce consumption of free sugars as part of global efforts to address the epidemic of obesity and associated disease.
Non-sugar sweeteners are low- or no-calorie alternatives to free sugars that are generally marketed as aiding weight loss or maintenance of healthy weight. Individual sweeteners undergo toxicological assessment to establish safe levels of intake (i.e. acceptable daily intake or ADI) but there is no clear consensus on whether non-sugar sweeteners are effective for long-term weight loss or if they are linked to other long-term health effects at habitual intakes within the ADI.
Since the release of the WHO guideline on free sugars intake, interest in the potential utility of non-sugar sweeteners in reducing sugars intake at the population level has increased. Therefore, WHO has developed recommendations on the use of non-sugar sweeteners in accordance with the current WHO guideline development process, which includes an assessment of systematically compiled scientific evidence and considerations of factors relevant to the implementation of the recommendation.
WHO is now inviting Member States and all relevant stakeholders to comment on the draft guideline via an online public consultation.
General guidance on providing comments
The public consultation will be open from 15 July to 14 August 2022. Feedback is especially sought on overall clarity, any potentially missing information, setting-specific or contextual issues, considerations and implications for adaptation and implementation of the guideline, and additional gaps in the evidence to be addressed by future research. During this time, the draft guideline will also undergo peer-review by an external expert group. Once the peer-review and public consultation are complete, the guideline will be finalized and reviewed by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee for final clearance prior to its official release.
Those interested in providing comments will be requested to complete, sign and submit a declaration of interest (DOI) form, and consent to having their name, organization/affiliation, country of residence or affiliation, and comments posted to the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety webpages on the WHO website.
The consultation has ended.
Contact
Please direct questions regarding the consultation including any technical difficulties with the online form, to NFS@who.int with the subject “NSS guideline”.