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Dr Charanjit (Chaz) Jagait leads the strategic development of FDI’s communications and advocacy activities. She has a degree in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Biochemistry and has worked at FDI for the past eight years. Dr Jagait has more than 20 years of experience of working in the field of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and has previously worked in leadership roles at the European Respiratory Society, World Heart Federation, and the International Osteoporosis Foundation. She also co-chaired the Communications Working Group for the NCD Alliance, when it was first established in 2009. She has a track record of leading successful disease awareness campaigns and growing their reach and impact. She is committed to ensuring all people have equitable access to oral healthcare and works to raise the global profile of oral health conditions to drive political and individual action.
Zero Free Sugars, Zero Cavities: Sugar Policies for Dental Caries Prevention
Free sugars offer little nutritional value and high sugar intake is in fact the single most important risk factor for the development of dental caries. There is a clear dose–response relationship between the amount of sugar consumed and the risk of tooth decay, an association much stronger than for any other sugar-related noncommunicable disease. The evidence for the role of sugar in the aetiology of dental caries played a crucial role in the WHO Sugars Guideline recommending less than 10% of daily total energy intake from free sugars as well as the conditional recommendation to reduce intake even further to 5% of total energy.
FDI’s Vision 2030 recognized the importance of policies addressing free sugar consumption as an indicator for monitoring progress in improving oral health. The draft WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan (2023–2030), which aligns with Vision 2030, also recommends that, by 2030, at least 50% of countries should have policy measures aiming to reduce free sugars intake. This presentation will highlight how FDI’s sugar strategy operationalizes the FDI Position on Free Sugars to help reduce the worldwide consumption of sugar.
Learning objectives
- Understand how the FDI Position on Free Sugars has been operationalized through the supporting strategy and goals.
- Learn about the status of the global sugar policy landscape and the related WHO target that stipulates at least 50% of countries have policy measures aiming to reduce free sugars intake by 2030.
- Understand how FDI and its members are implementing strategies to reduce the worldwide consumption of sugar.