**2. Problem statement**

There is a lack of understanding of nutritional labels that are contributing to a lack of usage of those labels and overconsumption of sugar [2, 3]. The consumption of sugar has increased both globally and in South Africa over the last few decades [4]. It has become increasingly necessary to assist consumers to choose healthier foods [5].

Theoretically, consumers should rely on food labels to make healthy purchasing choices, as they "provide nutritional information" [2]. However, as demonstrated by Jacobs et al., [2] and Heike & Taylor [5], this has not been the case, since the nutrition labels consist of technical language that most consumers cannot comprehend. The "lower the educational level of respondents, the less commonly they read food labels" [2]. It is against this background that the University of Limpopo's postgraduate students become relevant as the unit of analysis for this research study. There is limited research available on the South African consumer's level of knowledge of sugar in SSBs.
