GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The World Health Organization is recommending that adults consume no more than about 25 grams of sugar (roughly 6 teaspoons) a day, limiting intake to 5 percent of total calories consumed, a figure that has not been seen in many parts of the industrialized world since the 1800s (source: Planetoscope)
The new guideline has been put out for public consultation until the end of March. It could significantly affect health and both general health and dental care costs throughout the world, says the Geneva-based world health body.
American adults consume 15 percent of their calories as processed sugar, according to UPI.
The Swiss consume on average 137 grams of sugar a day, according to the Société suisse de nutrition.
“WHO’s current recommendation, from 2002, is that sugars should make up less than 10% of total energy intake per day. The new draft guideline also proposes that sugars should be less than 10 percent of total energy intake per day. It further suggests that a reduction to below 5 percent of total energy intake per day would have additional benefits,” the WHO says in a statement 5 March.
Beware if you think the guidelines refer only to sugar added by manufacturers.
“The suggested limits on intake of sugars in the draft guideline apply to all monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) that are added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or the consumer, as well as sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.
Much of the sugars consumed today are “hidden” in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets. For example, 1 tablespoon of ketchup contains around 4 grams (around 1 teaspoon) of sugars. A single can of sugar-sweetened soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of sugar.”
Research into the harmful effects of excessive sugar consumption, and where the line might lie for excess, says the WHO, has been marred by “inadequate study design, differences in assessing dietary intake, inconsistent findings and varying definitions of ‘sugars’ [which] have precluded definitive conclusions. The most consistent association has been between a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and the development of obesity, but not all published meta-analyses have reported a statistically significant relationship.”
A review of the research is provided by Jim Mann, professor in Human Nutrition & Medicine.