Normal Sugar Intake Should be Cut In Half

A new health warning recommends the cutting of sugar intake into half or an equivalent of five teaspoons.

The World Health Organization's guidelines recommend the limiting of sugar intake and suggest that not doing so may trigger a number of heart-related health risks. Initially, the recommended sugar limit intake is at roughly around ten teaspoons a day but it has been said that this contributes to heart problems, tooth decay and obesity. Food companies are also encouraged to change the sugar content of their products by lowering it. However, this is acknowledged to be both expensive and difficult on the part of companies and businesses.

On average, Britons consume 12 teaspoons of sugar a day - with a can of cola consisting ten teaspoons and a bar of Mars chocolate consisting of five teaspoons. Research has also found that some adults working in industrialized companies consume as many as 46 teaspoons of sugar daily. Philip James, president of the International Association for the Study on Obesity which works with the WHO, described the suggestion as "political dynamite." "The food industry will do everything in their power to undermine this."

Professor Shrinath Reddy, a cardiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health and member of the WHO panel of experts said: "I would agree with the recommendation to reduce it to five percent. There is overwhelming evidence coming out about sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugar consumption links to obesity, diabetes and even cardiovascular disease. Part of the problem is that sugary foods and drinks are now staples in many people's diet in industrialized countries, whereas once they were an occasional treat. We need to reverse this trend."