The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published new recommendations in a scientific statement about keeping kids healthy, saying that children should eat no more than 25 grams of added sugars on a daily basis.
This means children should eat fewer than six teaspoons of added sugars each day. Children as well as teens should limit drinking sugar-sweetened beverages to eight ounces each week. In addition, children who are less than two years old should not eat food or drink beverages that have added sugars.
“Our target recommendation is the same for all children between the ages of 2 and 18 to keep it simple for parents and public health advocates,” Dr. Miriam Vos, lead author, nutrition scientist and associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said.
Experts believe that these limits should be attainable for everyone; six teaspoons of sugar is approximately 100 calories, or 25 grams of added sugars.
“For most children, eating no more than six teaspoons of added sugars per day is a healthy and achievable target,” Vos said. “Children who eat foods loaded with added sugars tend to eat fewer healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products that are good for their heart health.”
Statistics show that people who eat more added sugars during their childhood are also more likely to develop heart disease, elevated blood pressure and obesity as children, young adults and older adults.
“There has been a lack of clarity and consensus regarding how much added sugar is considered safe for children, so sugars remain a commonly added ingredient in foods and drinks, and overall consumption by children remains high: the typical American child consumes about triple the recommended amount of added sugars,” Vos said.
