WHO: Daily sugar intake 'should be halved'

Too much sugar is linked to tooth decay and obesity

People will be advised to halve the amount of sugar in their diet, under new World Health Organization guidance.

Recommended levels of sugar will stay at below 10% of total calorie intake a day, but below 5% should be the target, says the WHO.

The draft guidance will be put out for public consultation.

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 by the WHO in 2002.

It works out at about 50g a day for an average adult.

However, a number of experts now think 10% is too high, amid rising obesity levels around the world.

Announcing the revisions, 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, director, Nutrition for Health and Development at the WHO, told a news conference that the 10% target was a "strong recommendation" while the 5% target was "conditional".

"We should aim for 5% if we can," he added.

As part of the review, the WHO commissioned a review of scientific evidence on damage to teeth from sugar, and the effect of sugar on obesity.

The obesity study, published last year in theBMJ, found while sugar did not directly cause obesity, those who consumed a lot of it, particularly in sweetened drinks, tended to put on weight as sugary food did not make them feel full.

A review of the link between sugar intake and tooth decay, carried out by UK researchers, found cases of tooth decay were lower when sugar made up less than 10% of daily calories.

Prof Paula Moynihan Professor of Nutrition and Oral Health at Newcastle University said: "The less sugar you eat, the lower your risk of dental decay."

On Tuesday, a leading UK doctor called for a tax on sugar to help combat growing levels of obesity.

Dame Sally Davies, England's Chief Medical Officer, said she believed "research will find sugar is addictive".

She said: "We may need to move toward some kind of sugar tax, but I hope we don't have to. We have normalised being overweight. I do fear this generation of children will live less than my parents' generation."