New WHO guideline calls for reducing intake of free
sugars in the diet
Free sugars go by different names such as glucose,
fructose, sucrose and table sugar. These sugars are naturally present in honey,
syrups and fruit juices and also added to food and drink by the food industry.
However, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) guideline, adults
and children must reduce their daily free sugar intake to less than 10% of
their total energy intake.
The new guideline is based on analysis of the latest
scientific evidence. The evidence, rated as strong by the WHO, revealed that
adults who consume lower amounts of free sugars have lower body weight than
those consuming higher amounts. Also, higher intake of free sugars (>10% of
total energy intake) in children was associated with increased risk of obesity
and tooth decay.
The report found that free sugars are often
concealed in processed foods which are not often considered as sweets. For
example, 1 tablespoon of ketchup contains around 4 g of free sugars, while a
can of soft drink contains up to 40 g of free sugars. The guideline does not
refer to naturally occurring sugars present in fresh fruits, vegetables and
milk as there is no reported association between adverse effects and the
consumption of these sugars.
The WHO report found variations in the consumption
of free sugars between countries and also urban and rural areas within a
country.
The WHO has issued a conditional recommendation that
the free sugar intake should be further reduced to less than 5% of the total
energy intake.
"We have solid evidence that keeping intake of
free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of
overweight, obesity and tooth decay," said Dr. Francesco Branca, director
of WHO's Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. He further added,
“Making policy changes to support this will be key if countries are to live up
to their commitments to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.”
No comments:
Post a Comment