Cut sugar intake by half to tackle obesity suggest experts
People should halve their sugar intake in order to control obesity and weight related illnesses health experts have advised the government.
Researchers from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) released a report that showed free sugars should account for no more than 5% of your daily intake. At present people in England consume more than the current recommended guideline of 10%.
SACN health experts believe that this decrease in sugar consumption would lead to far fewer cases of heart disease, diabetes and tooth decay.
The term “free sugar” includes sugar added to products by manufacturers, table sugar added to food and drinks and that found naturally in fruit juices, syrups and honey. Scientists recommend cutting down these sugars for healthier substitutes such as water, fresh fruit and low-fat milk.
Under these new guidelines nearly all of your daily allowance of sugar could be found in an average can of fizzy drink. Taking into account the presence of free sugar in a plethora of other food products, drinking fizzy drinks would be unfeasible as part of a healthy diet.
This report comes in response to the UK’s obesity crisis. Figures show two-third of British adults are overweight or obese and one in three children leave school overweight.
SACN professor Ian MacDonald warned: “There is a clear link between high levels of free sugar consumption and obesity. There is also an association between sugar-sweetened beverages and type-2 diabetes.”
In conjunction with these new recommendations government is trying to find alternative methods to combat obesity. These include restrictions on advertising for children and price hikes on products like sugary drinks.
In various countries a sugar tax has been introduced in order to curb rising obesity levels but the government has made clear that no such tax is planned for the UK.
Joanna Byrne
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