Sugar is now the top item consumers are trying to avoid in their diets and is neck-and-neck with calories as the top item they look for on nutrition facts labels, finds The NPD Group.###As a result of this avoidance, more sugar-free, unsweetened, or reduced sugar products are being consumed, and major distributors have increased case shipments of sugar substitutes to restaurants and foodservice outlets by double-digits over last year.###NPD’s Dieting Monitor, which continually examines top-of-mind dieting and nutrition-related issues facing consumers, asks adults the items they are trying to cut down on or avoid completely in their diets.###Fat has topped that list since the service was introduced in 2004.###In 2014, for the first time, sugar narrowly edged out fats for the number-one spot on the list.###About 65% of respondents want to cut down on or avoid sugar completely in their diets compared to 63% who want to do the same with fat.###When asked what they usually look for on Nutrition Facts labels, caharga ferrous fumaratelories and sugars are checked by 42% of adults, followed by sodium (37%) and fat (34%).###Regardless of the available nutritional information and dietary guidelines, consumers generally choose to focus on what they deem importcitracal citrateant.###Consumption of sugar-free, unsweetened, or reduced sugar products follows the trend in concern over sugar overall.###Although all adult age groups expreferrous fumarate 210 mg tabletsss trying to avoid sugar in their diets, concern is highest among 55+ adults and this group also consumes the most sugar free, unsweetened and reduced sugar products than other adult age groups.###Children who are under six years old consume the most sugar-free, unsweetened, or reduced sugar products among all age groups.###Rising import of sugar substitutes###The growth in consumption of sugar-free products is also evident in the increase of case shipments of sugar substitutes from major broadline foodservice distributors to restaurants and foodservice outlets.###Case shipments of bulk sugar substitutes to foodservice outlets increased by 22% in the year ending August 2015 compared to year ago, reports NPD’s SupplyTrack, a monthly trmagnesium citrate vitaminacking service that trackirkland magnesium zincks every product shipped from major broadline distributors to their foodservice operators.###Case shipments of stevia, a sweetener and sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, to foodservice outlets increased by 11%, more than any other type of sugar substitute.