## 4 Discussion  
In this 2019 survey, which is representative of the French population, the average FS intakes have been evaluated at 15.3% in children and adolescents (67.1 g/day) and 10.5% in adults (56.6 g/day) of the average TEI of 1760.9 kcal/day and 2156.6 kcal/day, respectively. FS intakes were consistent with the previous data available in France, with a trend of a slight increase over the years. In the analyses of the INCA 2 data (2006-2007) [20,21], the average FS intakes of children and adolescents were 14.7% of TEI and 9.5% of TEI in adults. In the previous 2016 CCAF survey, the average FS intakes were 14.8% of TEI  
Figure 1: Contribution of the most important food groups to overall intake of free sugars intake presented as kcal per day (kcal/day) and% of total free sugars intake (%TFS) in children and adolescents (**a**) as well as adults (**b**). (61.6 g/day) in children and adolescents and 10.2% of TEI (50.7 g/day) in adults [22]. In addition, the proportion of adults as well as children and adolescents exceeding the WHO recommendations of less than 10% TEI FS intake did not change in both CCAF surveys (85% of children and adolescents and 48% of adults in the 2019 CCAF survey against 84% and 46% in 2016). A slight increase in FS intake in both children and adolescents as well as in adults has been seen in the last 10 years, although a precise comparison is impossible given the different methodologies used in these two separate surveys and the lack of a nutritional table published on FS contents. Between the two CCAF surveys, the method for estimating the FS contents of foods has been improved, as the CIQUAL nutritional composition table was enriched by contents of different dietary sugars (lactose and maltose especially). These new data have resulted in an additional objective step being used to estimate FS intakes in the 2019 survey compared with the 2016 survey. Other FS intake data have been published for France as part of the NutriNet-Sante cohort, with average intakes of 9.0% of the TEI noted in adults. However, the volunteer population of this cohort is not representative of the French population and tends to have more health-conscious dietary habits than the general population [27]. Moreover, the CCAF 2019 study shows that the contribution of FS to TEI falls with age (15.6% of TEI in the 3-6 age group to around 9% in the over 50s). However, it has to mentioned that in the current study, FS intakes increased again in participants 76 years and older. However, in general, there are more children and adolescents than adults who exceed the WHO FS intake recommendation. This observation is also noted in other countries for free [12; 13; 14; 15] and total or added sugars [28; 29]. Furthermore, this decrease is also confirmed in the worldwide review of free sugars intake [19], showing that children's FS intake ranged from 9.1% of TEI in up to 10-year-old boys in Portugal and from 19.5% of TEI in up to 8-year-old girls in the Netherlands. For adolescents, intakes of FS ranged from 9.1% of TEI in 10 to 17-year-old boys in Portugal to 17.9% of TEI for 9 to 13-year-old boys in the Netherlands. For adults, intakes of FS ranged from 6.9% in 18 to 64-year-old men in Portugal to 18.1% in 51 to 64-year-old women in Austria and from 4.4% in 65 to 84-year-old men in Portugal to 12.5% for men aged >75 years old in the UK. The greater preference for the sugary taste in children and adolescents compared with adults is innate and is seen in different cultures and eras [30; 31]. One hypothesis is the acceptance of sweet-tasting foods, such as breast milk and fruit, at an early age, and this could be an adaptative response to higher energy needs during growth. At this stage, it has to be mentioned that FS intakes can contribute to overweight and obesity, if total energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. However, this effect is rather due to an excess in calories than FS _per se_[2; 4].