WHO recommends reducing daily sugar intake by half
Limiting sugar consumption may help tackle obesity, says World Health Organization (WHO)
People are now being advised to halve the amount of sugar in their diet, under new guidelines from the WHO. The recommended daily sugar intake remains at below 10 percent of their total calorie intake, but the target amount should be five percent, it says.
The suggested limits apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates. According to the BBC, UK campaigners say it is a “tragedy” that the WHO has taken 10 years to think about changing its earlier advice.
The recommendation that sugar should account for not more than 10 percent of calories in the diet was made in 2002. That works out at 50g a day for an adult of normal weight, says the WHO. However, a number of experts now think that – with obesity levels rising worldwide – 10 percent is still too high.
WHO reviews previous recommendation
Announcing the new draft measures, the WHO says in a statement: “The WHO’s current recommendation is that sugars should make up 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.”
Dr Francesco Branca, the WHO’s Nutrition Director, says that the 10 percent target was a “strong recommendation”, whereas the five percent target is “conditional”, based on current evidence. “We should aim for five percent if we can,” he adds.
The WHO guidelines follow a review of scientific evidence on the health impact of sugar, including damage to teeth and its effect on obesity. The obesity study, published in 2013 in the BMJ, found that, while sugar does not directly cause obesity, those who consume a lot of sugar, in sweetened drinks for example, tend to put on weight, as sugary food did not make them feel full.
A review of the link between sugar intake and tooth decay by UK researchers found fewer cases of tooth decay among people whose daily calorie intake included less than 10 percent of sugar.
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