According to new World Health Organization (WHO) guidance, people should halve the amount of sugar in their diet.
The recommended sugar intake will stay at below 10% of total calorie intake a day, with 5% the target, says the WHO.
The suggested limits apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.
The recommendation that sugar should account for no more than 10% of the calories in the diet, was passed in 2002.
It works out at about 50g a day for an adult of normal weight, said the WHO.
The WHO recommended sugar intake will stay at below 10 percent of total calorie intake a day, with 5 percent the target
However, a number of experts now think 10% is too high, amid rising obesity levels around the world.
Announcing the new draft measures, the WHO said in a statement: “WHO’s current recommendation, from 2002, is that sugars should make up less than 10% of total energy intake per day.
“The new draft guideline also proposes that sugars should be less than 10% of total energy intake per day.
“It further suggests that a reduction to below 5% of total energy intake per day would have additional benefits.”
Dr. Francesco Branca, WHO’s nutrition director, told a news conference that the 10% target was a “strong recommendation” while the 5% target was “conditional”, based on current evidence.
“We should aim for 5% if we can,” he added.
The plans will now go for public consultation, with firm recommendations expected this summer.
Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old Natasha Harris in New Zealand, a coroner has said.
Natasha Harris, who died three years ago after a cardiac arrest, drank up to 10 litres of the fizzy drink each day.
This is twice the recommended safe limit of caffeine and more than 11 times the recommended sugar intake.
Coca-Cola had argued that it could not be proved its product had contributed to Natasha Harris’ death.
The mother of eight, from the southern city of Invercargill, had suffered for years from ill health.
Her family said she had developed an addiction to Coca-Cola and would get withdrawal symptoms, including “the shakes”, if she went without her favorite drink.
Natasha Harris drank Coke throughout her waking hours and her teeth had been removed because of decay.
Coroner David Crerar said her Coca-Cola consumption had given rise to cardiac arrhythmia, a condition when the heart beats too fast or too slow.
“I find that when all the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died,” David Crerar’s finding said.
Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old Natasha Harris in New Zealand
The coroner calculated that drinking 10 litres (17.5 pints) of Coke amounted to more than 1 kg (2.2 lb) of sugar and 970 mg of caffeine, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) reports.
David Crerar said that Coca-Cola could not be held responsible for the health of consumers who drank excessive quantities of its product.
But he called on soft drinks companies to display clearer warnings on their beverages about the risks of too much sugar and caffeine.
Natasha Harris and her family should have heeded the warning signs about her ill health, the coroner added.
“The fact she had her teeth extracted several years before her death because of what her family believed was Coke induced tooth decay, and the fact that one or more of her children were born without enamel on their teeth, should have been treated by her, and by her family, as a warning,” TVNZ quotes his statement as saying.
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