One can of fizzy pop will hit new daily sugar limits
A can of fizzy pop will contain an adult’s daily dose of sugar under new guidelines being assessed by the Department of Health. Scientists are proposing that “free sugar” intake should be cut by half.
A draft report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is urging a reduction from the current recommendation of 10 per cent of dietary energy intake to 5 per cent, which would bring the Department of Health in line with the World Health Organisation.
This is the equivalent of 25 grams of sugar for women and 35 grams, or seven to eight teaspoonfuls, for men – a single 330ml can of fizzy drink contains around seven teaspoonfuls alone.
Professor Ian Macdonald, who chaired the SACN carbohydrates working group, said: “One can will use up your 5 per cent but the message has got to be to reduce consumption of all sorts of foods and drinks. It is possible without it being a boring Second World War type of diet.”
Speaking at a news briefing in London, Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said cutting sugar to 5 per cent of calories simply meant making a lifestyle choice to cut back on consuming chocolates, cakes, fizzy drinks, and sweets.
“It doesn’t mean having a very different diet,” she said. “It means thinking about swapping these high-sugar foods for low-sugar alternatives; for example, drinking water. Instead of having a chocolate bar, you could have a piece of fruit.”
Free sugars are added to food, or contained in fruit juices, honey, syrups and sweetened drinks, and pose a significant threat to dental health. While sugars that are contained within fresh fruits, vegetables and milk do not count as free sugars, they do contribute to our overall sugar consumption. And too much sugar in our diets is one of the biggest causes for the rising rates of Type 2 diabetes and obesity epidemic in the UK.
“There is strong evidence in the report to show that if people were to have less free sugars and more fibre in their diet, they would lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer,” said Dr Ann Prentice, chair of the SACN and director of human nutrition research at the Medical Research Council. “People need to consume a balanced diet, which includes carbohydrate-rich foods that are low in free sugars and high in fibre.”
The guidance will go out for public consultation prior to a final report, due to be published in March 2015.