Halve sugar in diet to improve health, new guidelines suggest

Current WHO guidelines say sugars should make up less than 10 per cent of total energy intake per day for adults and children. For adults of a normal weight, this is the equivalent of around 50g – about 12 level teaspoons – of sugar.

In new draft guidelines, which are subject to consultation, the WHO maintains its original advice that sugars should be less than 10 per cent of total energy intake per day.

But it argues that cutting this intake to less than five per cent would bring “additional health benefits” and is the “ideal” figure that people should aim for.

The guidelines follow several studies on the impact of sugar on obesity and dental cavities, including the role of “hidden” sugars.

The WHO’s limits on intake of sugars apply to all monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar).

These are added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or the consumer, and are also sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.

The WHO said much of the sugars consumed today are “hidden” in processed foods such as sweets, with sugary fizzy drinks having about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Dr Francesco Branca, director for nutrition for health and development at the WHO, told a news conference that the 10 per cent target was a “strong recommendation” while the five per cent target was “conditional”, based on the evidence.

He added: “Five per cent is the ideal one and the 10 per cent is the more realistic one.

“We have few countries (hitting) below 10 per cent. But, yes, we should aim for five per cent if we can.”

Dr Branca said obesity affects half a billion people around the world and is on the rise among all age groups.

He said the recommendation for less than five per cent was important because it told countries that reductions to “below five per cent are even better”.

The news comes after England’s chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, told MPs yesterday that a “sugar tax” may have to be introduced to curb child and adult obesity.

She said being overweight had become “normalised” in Britain and the Government should regulate the food and drinks industry to protect people against the dangers of excess calorie consumption.