AHASugarGuidelinesforChildrenJenniferA.Weber,MPH,RDDirector,KidsMarket

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AHA’s2020HealthImpactGoal

By2020,toimprovethecardiovascularhealthofallAmericansby20percentwhilereducingdeathsfromcardiovasculardiseasesandstrokeby20percent.

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AddedSugarsandCardiovascularDiseaseRiskinChildren:AScientificStatementfromAHAwasreleasedinAugust2016.

Thepurposeofthisstatementwasto• reviewtheavailableevidenceonaddedsugars

intakeandCVDriskinchildrenandadolescents,

• identifyresearchgaps,and• makerecommendationsthatwillpromote

furtherreductionsinaddedsugarsintakeandreductionsinCVDrisk.

KeyFindings• Childrenconsumeanaverageof80gramsofaddedsugardaily-- 16%caloriesconsumed• Foodsandbeverageseachcontributeapproximatelyhalfoftheaddedsugarsinchildren’sdiets.• Thetopcontributorstoaddedsugarsintakeincludesoda,fruit-flavoredandsportsdrinks,andcakesandcookies.

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KeyFindings• Addedsugarscontributetoadietthatisenergydensebutnutrientpoorandincreasetheriskofdevelopingobesity,cardiovasculardisease(CVD),hypertension,obesity-relatedcancers,anddentalcaries• Strongevidencesupportsanassociationofaddedsugarswithincreasedcardiovasculardiseaseriskinchildren• Addedsugarsappeartobeassociatedwithinsulinresistanceinchildrenwhoareoverweight• Thereisconsistentevidencethatcardiovascularriskincreasesasaddedsugarsconsumptionincreases.• Studiesareneededtofurtherelucidateasafetythresholdofaddedsugarsintake

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StatementHighlights

• Childrenshouldconsumelessthansixteaspoonsofaddedsugarsperday.• Childrenandteensshouldlimittheirintakeofsugar-sweeteneddrinkstonomorethaneightouncesweekly.• Childrenundertheageof2yearsshouldnotconsumefoodsorbeverageswithaddedsugars,includingsugar-sweeteneddrinks.

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ComparisontoOtherRecommendations• WorldHealthOrganizationrecommendsthatadultsandchildrenreducetheirintakeoffreesugarstolessthan10percentoftotalcalories.Theyfurtherconcludedthatreducingfreesugarstolessthan5percentofcalories(about25gramsorsixteaspoons)perdaywouldprovideadditionalhealthbenefits.• The2015DietaryGuidelinesforAmericansrecommendfewerthan10percentofcaloriescomefromaddedsugars.

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ResearchGaps• Isthereathresholdofaddedsugarsbelowwhichtherearenonegativeeffectsoncardiovascularhealth?• Isthereadirectlinearrelationshipbetweenincreasingcardiovascularriskoutcomesandaddedsugarsintake?Forexample,is1%betterthan5%,whichisbetterthan10%?Doesthischangebyage?• Aretherisksassociatedwithaddedsugarsconsumptionlowerifthesugarsareconsumedinfoodsinsteadofinbeverages?• Doesroutineuseofnon-nutritivesweetenershaveadversemetaboliceffectsinchildren?

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AHAAddedSugarRecommendationsforAdultsTheAmericanHeartAssociationrecommendslimitingtheamountofaddedsugarstonomorethan100caloriesperdayforwomenandnomorethan150caloriesperdayformen(orabout6teaspoonsperdayforwomenand9teaspoonsperdayformen).

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