What should be the maximum daily intake of sugar?

How much sugar is not unhealthy yet?

The German Nutrition Society e. V. (DGE), the German Obesity Society e. V. (DAG) and the German Diabetes Association e. V. (DDG) today published a consensus paper with a recommendation on maximum intake of free sugars in Germany. The consensus paper follows the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2015 and advocates a maximum intake of free sugars of less than 10% of the total energy intake.

At a total energy intake of 2,000 kcal / day, this recommendation corresponds to a maximum intake of 50 g free sugars / day. These include monosaccharides and disaccharides, which add food or food to manufacturers or consumers, and naturally occurring sugars in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. The quantitative recommendation of the three societies is not to be understood as a recommended intake, but as a maximum upper limit.

A high and frequent intake of sugar promotes the development of overweight and obesity as well as numerous diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular diseases and the development of caries. Health-promoting is a low-sugar diet.

Sugar intake in Germany

Data from consumption studies show that the intake of free sugars in Germany, especially among younger age groups, is well above the recommendation of less than 10% (En%). While female intake is around 14% in the 15-80 age group, it is 13% in men. This equates to a supply of free sugars in women of 61 g / day and in men of 78 g / day. Children and adolescents consume up to 17.5 en%. In order not to exceed the intake recommendation of free sugar, the current supply would have to be reduced by at least 25%.

A large proportion of the supply of free sugar in Germany comes from confectionery (36%) and sugar-containing soft drinks such as fruit juices and nectars (26%) and lemonade (12%). In particular, the high consumption of sugary drinks can lead to a positive energy balance and consequently increased body weight and increased disease risks. Since sugar-sweetened drinks have no saturation effect, their consumption easily leads to an overall high energy intake. The increased risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 by eating sugar-sweetened beverages is also independent of the influence on the energy balance.

Less sugar is more

The DGE recommends that consumers generally save sugar in their 2017 updated "10 rules for a wholesome diet." After that, those who rarely consume heavily processed and sugar-sweetened foods and replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water or unsweetened teas can reduce the intake of free sugars. Children should not even get used to a high sugar intake and the associated sweet taste. Specially promoted foods for children are often high in sugars and therefore superfluous.

So far, behavior-preventive measures to promote healthy lifestyles have not led to the desired reduction of obesity or obesity and associated nutrition-related diseases. For this reason, various nutrition policy measures are currently being applied worldwide in the field of prevention, also with the aim of reducing the supply of sugar throughout the population. In Germany too, from 2019 to 2025, the sugar content in finished products will be reduced.

In the long term, a co-ordinated combination of behavioral prevention with various binding measures of proportionality prevention, i. H. a holistic approach, useful to address the multicausal problem of being overweight or obese, as well as the associated nutritional disorders.