Reduce sugar intake, WHO warns

March 16, 2014 by Arukaino Umukoro

   

 

Suger cubes

Recently, the World Health Organisation recommended that people should reduce their sugar intake by half, writes ARUKAINO UMUKORO

The World Health Organisation in one of its latest recommendations warned that taking more than six teaspoons of sugar could trigger obesity, tooth decay and other allied health conditions.

The organisation advised that people should reduce their sugar intake by half so as to remain within safe limits and avoid health hazards.

The calculation of the sugar intake by the global health regulator includes all sugar added to food and beverages, as well as natural sugar in products such as syrups, honey, and fruit juice.

The current WHO recommendation, which came into operation in 2002, recommends that sugars should make up less than 10 per cent of total energy intake per day.

However, the new draft guideline proposes that a reduction to below five per cent of total energy intake per day would have additional benefits.

Five per cent of total energy intake is equal to about 25 grammes or six teaspoons of sugar per day for an adult of normal Body Mass Index.

Many food products, according to some experts, contain more than that amount of sugar.

The WHO report stated, “The suggested limits on intake of sugars in the draft guideline apply to all monosaccharides, such as glucose, fructose, and disaccharides, such as sucrose or table sugar, that are added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or the consumer, as well as sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.

“Much of the sugars consumed today are ‘hidden’ in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets. For example, one tablespoon of ketchup contains around four grammes (1 teaspoon) of sugars. A single can of sugar-sweetened soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of sugar.”

WHO also expressed concern with the role sugar plays in causing obesity and dental diseases globally.

“The guideline, when finalised, will provide countries with recommendations on limiting the consumption of sugars to reduce public health problems like obesity and dental caries, commonly referred to as tooth decay. It also stated that the draft guideline was formulated based on analyses of all published scientific studies on the consumption of sugars and how that relates to excess weight gain and tooth decay in adults and children,” it indicated.

The proposed reduction in sugar consumption may not be good news for many Nigerians who are used to taking sugar in different food products. A nutritional consultant, Mrs. Idowu Ashiru, noted that the new WHO guideline was a welcome development.

“Sugar is not a substance I would recommend that anybody should be taking in any quantity whatsoever. Not only does sugar promote cancer, it also contributes to diabetes and obesity and many other illnesses related to lifestyle,” she said.

According to WHO, this new guideline is part of its efforts to fight obesity worldwide. It estimates that at least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese, while a significant percentage of diabetes, heart disease and certain cancer cases are attributable to being overweight. It is also estimated that more than 40 million children under the age of five are overweight.

“It (obesity) is definitely worsening. There are half a billion people that are affected by obesity and it is on the rise. We see more and more kids, even from early ages such as before five years, getting more and more overweight and obese, even in low and middle-income countries,” said WHO’s Director of Nutrition for Health and Development, Francesco Branca.

Ordinarily, the high level of sugar intake for children was not a problem until recently, said Professor of Human Nutrition, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Ignatius Onimawo.

He said, “This is because children are always very active and need a lot of energy and take a lot of sugary things converted to energy to play around. In the past, the Type 2 diabetes was never found in children; that’s why they call it adult onset diabetes. But these days, it is found that children aged nine or 12 years are coming up with complications that display Type 2 diabetes.

“Children who are living sedentary lives, who spend more time watching television and don’t involve themselves in activities, are likely to be at risk because the sugar in their body would be converted to fat and cause them to grow fat and gain much weight. One of the indicators is that children that are very fat and big are the ones that normally show early signs of diabetes.”

However, Onimawo pointed out that sugar, in itself, was not harmful. He said, “From the biochemical point of view, sugar in itself is not dangerous to health because the body has put in place a mechanism to convert sugar to energy and the excess sugar is normally converted and stored as fat.

“But it is advised to avoid excess sugar nowadays because of the emergence of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and the associated disabilities.

He further said that both children and adults should avoid taking excess sugar as WHO recommends.

“The sugar that has been most implicated in this aspect is the white, granulated and cube sugar, the one we add to tea and food. But naturally, every carbohydrate food you eat contains sugar, because carbohydrate itself is sugar.

“But the only difference is that the carbohydrate in the natural form like in garri, rice, cassava, yam and other food, are in the form of starch. The body converts the starch into glucose. Therefore, the body can handle it on a gradual note rather than refined sugar.

“Once you take refined sugar, it is easily absorbed into the blood stream and can shoot up your blood sugar level. That is why one should try to reduce the intake of sugar, granulated or cube sugar, to food, as a way of reducing the amount of readily absorbable sugar.

“There is no reason why somebody should take more than one teaspoon of granulated sugar or one cube of sugar per cup of tea. That should be okay.

“But for some people who already have problems with diabetes or high blood sugar levels, such people should even avoid adding sugar to their tea,” Onimawo added.

A gynaecologist, Dr. Kingsley Odogwu, added that, beyond general weight gain, too much sugar also affects pregnant women.

“Any weight that is above 90 kilogrammes is considered to be a high risk weight because if a woman conceives, the pregnancy is also a high risk pregnancy. Also, as the woman puts on weight, she is at the risk of developing diabetes. Also, weight gain is a risk factor in the development of hypertension and other health issues. People should reduce sugar intake to the barest minimum,” he said.

Although it may be difficult to adhere to, WHO experts noted that reducing the recommended daily sugar intake to five per cent would help combat obesity and dental problems. “We should aim for five per cent if we can, but 10 per cent is more realistic,” said Branca.

Onimawo also advised that people who are addicted to consuming soft drinks, beverages and food products, which contain a lot of sugar, on a daily basis, should reduce their intake to avoid health risks.

“If one has to take fruit juice, one has to ensure one reads the label carefully to ascertain the level of sugar in it. One should avoid it if it contains sugar. But there are some which claim no sugar is added. I don’t know how true these claims are, but those are the types that people should go for,” he said.

 “For people who cannot do without sugar, they should consume a lot of vegetables, particularly bitterleaf, because bitterleaf helps to reduce the effect of sugar in the body,” he stated.