“For most children, eating no more than six teaspoons of added sugars per day is a healthy and achievable target”, she said.
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The researchers concluded that children are now consuming more than the newly recommended 25-grams-or-less of added sugars daily, on average.
The researchers reviewed and analyzed more than 100 previous papers and studies on the cardiovascular health effects of added sugars on children published through November 2015.
The average American child consumes three times that amount daily, said Dr. Miriam Vos, lead author, nutrition scientist and associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Various prior reports have suggested that eating food and food products rich in added sugar content throughout childhood is associated with high blood pressure and obesity.
A year ago, the World Health Organization recommended that kids consume no more than 10 percent of their daily calories as sugar-this is hard to quantify.
Any table sugar, fructose or honey used as an ingredient in processing and preparing foods or beverages, or eaten separately, or added to a meal at the dining table.
“The typical American child consumes about triple the recommended amount of added sugars”, she added.
Children under 2 have lower caloric needs than other children, so there is little room for foods and beverages with added sugars and little nutritional value, Vos said.
Early years are particularly important because that is when children develop their taste preferences, and they may opt for healthier foods if they are not exposed to candies at a young age, said the report.
AHA’s new standard comes on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalizing new requirements for the Nutrition Facts label of package foods which includes listing a percent daily value for added sugars.
The researchers stated that those children who consume foods laden with added sugar are more prone to eating fewer healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products and even whole grains.
Children and teens should limit their intake of sugar-sweetened drinks to no more than eight ounces weekly.
“I am very concerned, as a parent, that my child shouldn’t be consuming as much added sugar as I did as a child”, he said, “and this AHA statement goes a long way toward helping parents like me understand the implications of what I give to my child to eat”.
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Citing a lack of research on children, and non-nutritive sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharine and sucralose, the heart association did not make any recommendations on no-calorie sweeteners.
