Kids and Sugar: How Much Is Too Much?
LIFE-SAVING SUGAR FACTS TO BE AWARE OF
Famous chef and activist Jamie Oliver has been fighting for proper nutrition for children for over ten years. His focus has been teaching children and parents about healthy seasonal, nutritious food to convince governments to force food companies to be transparent in their labeling. He's also fighting to promote healthier meals in school canteens in the US, UK, EU, and Australia.
During the five years of elementary school this is how much sugar children ingest, just from milk.
This image is taken from his shocking TED talk: did you know that this is how much sugar a child will have ingested by the end of elementary school just from sweetened milk? Unlike adults, children are drawn to extremely sweet foods (1), but their developing bodies need nutrient-dense, not calorie-dense foods. After all, a sedentary 2-year-old needs only around 1,000 a day and a very active one up to 1400. Fixating on calories, of course, is not the point, but collecting more tools to protect our children’s health is.
Several studies found that children who consumed a large number of sugary drinks (at least five servings per week) were almost 3.5 times more likely to become obese than those who never or rarely consumed sugary drinks (2).
A study reported by the New York Times says that "from 2011 to 2016, 98 percent of toddlers ages 12 to 23 months consumed added sugar in fruit drinks, baked goods, candy, and ready-to-eat cereals".
The American Heart Association (AHA) advises that toddlers and infants avoid sugar-sweetened drinks altogether, or at least they do not drink more than one 8-ounce a week.
The AHA as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) report that eating lots of added sugar early in life is linked to the development of risk factors for obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Finally, letting children eat to a lot of sugary foods when they are young could impact taste preferences when they are older.
PAY ATTENTION TO SUGAR IN PROCESSED/PACKAGED FOODS
Common foods might be a silent sugar source. Did you know that:
A glass of orange or apple juice contains as much sugar as cola (six teaspoons in a 250ml/8oz glass).
Dried fruit like raisins is almost all sugar.
Shop-bought pizzas can be high in sugar: some have 1-2 teaspoons per 100g (a little less than a slice).
Children's yogurts and cream cheese can contain three teaspoons of sugar in a small cup (one and a half teaspoons in a tiny cup).
Jars of pasta sauces can contain one and a half teaspoons of sugar in a small portion.
Children's breakfast cereals can be really high in sugar, and even the ones that look "healthy" can easily have three teaspoons of sugar per small bowl.
READ LABELS
It’s always recommended to read food labels and check their sugar content. However, don't underestimate labels on food marketed as "healthy". A green package with brown lettering and leaves is sometimes just marketing—terms like "natural" and "organic" can apply to sugar-rich and fat-free products as well (4). As of 2016, under food regulations, terms like "healthy" can only be applied to certain categories of food low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol (5). This too, does not apply to sugar content.
A RULE OF THUMB
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends less than 25 grams (6 tablespoons) of added sugar per day for children ages 2 to 18.
The World Health Organisation and the American Heart Association (AHA) say that (3):
Sugar should make up no more than 5% of our daily diet.
Children younger than 2 years should have no sugar at all.
For children between 2 and 10 years, it's around a maximum of 13g teaspoons per day
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1364537/pdf/nihms7936.pdf
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5200/52e66cfdca8755e8baa51895499b7109a260.pdf
http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/
https://www.gcbl.org/live/food/healthy-diet/what-do-food-labels-really-mean
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.65
Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child about Food [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver_teach_every_child_about_food
