Since launching last year, MAYbe Less Sugar has been working to raise awareness about the impact that excessive added sugar consumption has on our health. Set up by Diabète Vaud and Uni Santé in 2022, the initiative has quickly grown to become a national movement. At Novae, we are proud to be supporting this work, aimed at encouraging healthier food choices and helping everyone become more aware of their sugar consumption.
1-MAYbe Less Sugar: How it started and who’s involved
Confronted with the worrying reality that adults consume more than double the recommended amount of added sugar each day than that recommended by WHO – 107g on average – Diabète Vaud and Uni Santé joined forces, launching their first campaign with a range of experts in May 2023.
Initially targeting French-speaking Switzerland, this year the movement also reaches German-speaking areas, and aims to reach Italian-speaking areas by 2025.
The growing initiative has stirred up much interest in the health industry as well as public and private sector companies, with new partners joining such as the Swiss Paediatric Society, the Swiss Society for Nutrition, Fourchette Verte, Promotion Santé Suisse, and many more.
Novae has been involved since the first campaign last year, and is still the only institutional catering business to be an active participant in the initiative.
2-MAYbe Less Sugar: Great! But how?
On an individual level, it can be hard to assess how much sugar consumption is too much. The difficulty lies in the fact that packaging isn’t always clear, and added sugar can get hidden in complex ingredient lists.
So how do we know if we are consuming healthy amounts or too much? Better yet, what should we do to make changes?
To help solve the problem, our nutrition expert, Irène Rolfo, has been commissioned by Diabète Vaud to design a tool that allows the population to check how much added sugar they are consuming. The tool is free to use online, and allows everyone to become aware of their current consumption, as well as setting achievable personal goals.
The aim of the movement is to encourage the population to think about their sugar consumption without judgement, giving everyone the freedom to decide whether and how to make changes to their diet.
Try the MAYbe Less Sugar calculator today: discover your current sugar consumption and set personal goals!
3- MAYbe Less Sugar: Who is affected?
Everyone!
Consuming too much added sugar is linked to an increase in chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Data shows that young people and those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds are particularly affected by excessive sugar consumption. This is why the initiative is focusing its efforts on supporting those who need it most. Many initiatives are being put in place to raise awareness among different sections of the population, especially children and young people.
4- Some of the actions taken at Novae
First of all, this problem is not a new one for Novae. We have been training our teams on the impact of nutrition for many years, to offer our clients healthy options.
Where possible, we have also adopted the practice of offering half-portions of dessert all year round, so as not to sacrifice the satisfaction of a sweet treat at the end of a meal while still mitigating its impact.
Over the month of May, our establishments participating in the movement are also offering special talks, workshops and information. Offerings with less sugar or no added sugar are top of the menu.
To raise awareness among young people, our expert nutritionist has developed dedicated educational materials to explain that a pleasant taste doesn’t necessarily indicate healthy food.
“Sharing is caring”: we share recipes and organise tasting workshops in collaboration with our chefs. The aim of all this is to demonstrate that tasty, healthy alternatives are completely achievable!
At Novae, we believe in the importance of giving everyone the means to make informed decisions about their diet.
Healthier food choices are possible while still eating for pleasure.
By taking part in the MAYBe Less Sugar movement, you’re taking a step towards better health for yourself and your community. Together, we can change our eating habits for the better, one less sweet treat at a time.
