Psychological research into cognitive performance encourages manufacturers to reduce sugar content

Excessive sugar consumption is a key contributing factor in billions of adults worldwide being overweight or obese. Sugar-sweetened soft drinks represent the single largest source of calories in people’s diets. Psychologists from Lancaster University have worked with food and drink manufacturers to reduce sugar contents and enable healthier choices.

Research by Professor Sünram-Lea has led to an increased awareness and understanding of the effects of glucose and carbohydrates on cognitive performance. She demonstrated that relatively small variations in glucose affect attention, mood, effort and motivation, challenging the assumption that these effects only occur during low glucose levels or fasting.

Her work with industry has led to new lower- and low-sugar versions of products by several multi-national companies, including the most popular energy drink – Lucozade. These changes have given millions of consumers globally access to a wider range of healthier low-sugar options.

• Enabled GlaxoSmithKline to successfully reposition Lucozade, away from its association with athletic fitness and towards mental energy and performance, by demonstrating that the original 60g of sugar content was not optimal for cognitive performance. In 2013, GSK sold Lucozade (together with Ribena) to Suntory for £1.35billion.
• Continued research with Suntory, resulted in category-leading reformulations of sugar content in energy drinks, with Lucozade Energy now containing 50% less sugar. The annual sales of Lucozade drinks alone surpass 400 million units, with Lucozade Energy replacing Red Bull (estimated 3.7 million consumers) in 2019, as the most popular energy drink brand in the UK.
• Approximately 25 million people are now consuming drinks with 50% less sugar content, according to the recent figures by Suntory. The House of Commons welcomed this effort in the debate on childhood obesity strategy, in 2016.
• Advised Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, on optimising breakfast composition for children, to improve academic performance, resulting in a priority shift in Nestlé’s R&D strategy.
• Engagement with the Nestlé Nutrition Institute, a not- for-profit association with 300,000 members from major food and drink manufacturing organisations worldwide, to change perceptions and understandings of sugar content.