Go easy on the soda, juice drinks, pastries and sweetened cereal. Most kids are eating 3 times more sugar than they should be, and a major health organization is calling on parents to scale it back.
This week the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines recommending kids and teens consume no more than 6 teaspoons – or 25 grams – of added sugar a day. Children under age 2 should consume no sugar at all so that they don’t develop a preference for sweet foods, the AHA said.
For most parents, the recommendations require cutting back their kids’ sugar intake significantly. The average U.S. child consumes 19 teaspoons of added sugar daily, putting them at risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health problems. Much of the sugar comes from soda, fruit-flavored drinks, sports drinks, cakes and cookies, according to the AHA report.
So how much is 6 teaspoons of added sugar? Not a lot when you consider just one can of regular Coke has over 9 teaspoons of sugar, and a typical serving of vanilla yogurt meets the 6-teaspoon sugar limit. Children’s cereals are frequently high in sugar too. The average serving contains around 2 ½ teaspoons of sugar, or 10 grams.
To reduce sugar consumption, the AHA recommends parents limit sugary drinks to just 8 ounces per week. Also look out for forms of added sugar on food labels, such as fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, honey, lactose and sucrose.
Unfortunately, food manufacturers won’t have to spell out exactly how much sugar they add to their products until new food-label rules take effect July, 2018. Until then, follow child nutrition guidelines and limit consumption of sugary and packaged foods that don’t have much nutritional value.
What do you think of these new guidelines? Are they feasible for your family?
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