WHO halves sugar intake advice to 5 percent of daily intake

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Adults should eat less than the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar a day if they are to avoid health risks such as weight gain and tooth decay linked to sugary diets, the World Health Organisation said yesterday.

Issuing draft guidelines calling for a new sugar limit of less than 5.0 percent of daily energy intake, the United Nations health agency said its recommendations were based on “the totality of evidence regarding the relationship between free sugars intake and body weight and dental caries”.

“Obesity now affects half a billion people in the world, and it is on the rise in all age groups and particularly in low- and middle-income countries,” said Francesco Branca, the WHO’s director of nutrition for health and development, adding that free sugars were a key culprit in that epidemic.

Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides that are added to foods by manufacturers, cooks or consumers, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.