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Volume 3 Issue 5
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CDA
at
W
ork
T
his May, I was proud to be a part of
the CDA delegation for this year’s
Days on the Hill event (see p. 9). Over
the course of two days packed with
meetings, the CDA delegation
(which included 8 practising dentists like myself)
focused on 3 important matters with parliamen-
tarians and policy makers:
• reducing Canadians’ sugar consumption
• refining the small business tax rate
• improving refugee oral health care
It was a truly invigorating experience that
showed me why advocacy initiatives are so
meaningful: our efforts can bring about positive
changes for our profession and for our patients.
I believe we made a compelling case for support
on all of the issues we raised, but in particular
discussions on sugar reduction resonated very
deeply with the MPs whom I spoke with. They
are hearing more about the dangers of too
much sugar from other health care providers
as well. Canadians are consuming too
much sugar in their diets and this is
putting them at a greater risk for such
conditions as oral disease, heart
disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity,
high blood cholesterol and cancer.
Although dentists have long
understood that reducing sugars
is going to reduce the prevalence
of caries that we see every day,
recognition of these other serious
health consequences has resulted
in governments all over the world
reckoning with high-sugar diets as a
significant problem.
CDA believes that Canadians need better
information on how much sugar is found in their
food and drink. Most Canadians rank their sugar
intake as average, but few even know what the
average is! In 2001, Statistics Canada reported
that an individual’s average consumption of
sugar is 26 teaspoons a day: is that too much,
and if so, by how much? According to the World
Health Organization, the recommended intake
is no more than 10% of an individual’s daily
calories—that’s about 12 teaspoons of sugar
for an average 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. The
average Canadian, then, is consuming over 200%
of the recommended sugar intake. To be clear,
these recommendations are based on sugars
considered to be “free sugars” (those added to
food or drink and naturally present in honey,
syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates)
but not the sugars found in fruit, vegetables and
dairy products.
Sugar intake might be so high in Canada
because the average person simply isn’t aware
of how much sugar they are consuming. That’s
why CDA is supporting an initiative that would
make it mandatory for all food and drink to have
a “percentage daily value” declaration for sugars.
CDA is also recommending measures that would
restrict the marketing of sugary food and drinks
to children, and restrictions to the use of the “no
added sugar” claim on products like fruit juices,
fruit concentrates, and fruit strips.
Getting people to consume less sugar isn’t
easy; dentists are well aware of this. But the
collaborative spirit of this year’s Days on the Hill
event left me feeling hopeful—as a Canadian
and a dentist—that our government is ready to
listen to and act upon our advice.
From the President
RandallCroutze, bsc, dds
president@cda-adc.caHeeding our call on
Sugar Reduction