It’s well-known that Americans eat too much sugar. But that affinity for the candy stuff starts as early as infancy, with some infants consuming added sugar that exceeds maximum levels beneficial for adults, U.S. researchers report.
Eating meals with added sugar can affect a toddler’s food decisions later in life. And added sugar has been linked with obesity, asthma, dental cavities and heart disease danger elements corresponding to excessive ldl cholesterol and high blood pressure, the research authors stated.
The researchers analyzed knowledge from 800 infants and toddlers between 6 and 23 months previous in the 2011-2014 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
They found that 85 % of the infants and toddlers consumed added sugar on a given day and that added sugar consumption rose with age.
Just over 60 % of those ages 6 to 11 months averaged slightly below 1 teaspoon of added sugar a day. That rose to 98 % amongst those infants 12 to 18 months, who averaged 5.5 teaspoons of added sugar a day.
And a whopping 99 % of infants 19 to 23 months previous averaged just over 7 teaspoons of added sugar on a given day, greater than the quantity in a Snickers candy bar, the research authors stated.
The added sugar included cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and honey.
Daily really helpful limits for added sugar are 6 teaspoons or much less a day for youngsters 2 to 19 years previous and for adult women, and 9 teaspoons or much less a day for grownup men.
But most Americans exceed those limits.
The research findings are scheduled for presentation Sunday at the American Society for Nutrition annual meeting, in Boston.
“This is the first time we have looked at added sugar consumption among children less than 2 years old,” stated lead research writer Kirsten Herrick, a nutritional epidemiologist on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Our results show that added sugar consumption begins early in life and exceeds current recommendations. These data may be relevant to the upcoming 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” she stated in a society news release.
“The easiest way to reduce added sugars in your own diet and your kids’ diet is to choose foods that you know don’t have them, like fresh fruits and vegetables,” Herrick advised.
Research introduced at meetings is taken into account preliminary till revealed in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has more on added sugars.