According to WHO, a further reduction to below 5 percent or roughly 25 grams, that is six teaspoons per day, would provide additional health benefits and reduce risks of obesity, overweight and tooth decay, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing.
"The guideline does not refer to the sugars in fresh fruits and vegetables, or to sugars naturally present in milk, but to glucose, fructose, sucrose or table sugar, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates," Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, WHO warns that much sugar consumed today is "hidden" in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets.
Based on the quality of supporting evidence, these recommendations are ranked by WHO as "strong," which means they can be adopted as policy in most situations, the spokesman said.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
