Current WHO recommendation to reduce free sugar intake from all sources to below 10% of daily energy intake for supporting overall health is not well supported by available evidence

Abstract

Sugar is widely consumed over the world. Although the mainstream view is that high added/free sugar consumption leads to obesity and related metabolic diseases, controversies exist. This narrative review aims to highlight important findings and identify major limitations and gaps in the current body of evidence in relation to the effect of high sugar intake on health. Previous animal studies have shown that high sucrose/fructose consumption causes insulin resistance in the liver, skeletal muscle and consequent hyperglycemia, mainly because of fructose-induced de novo hepatic lipogenesis. Evidence from human observational studies and clinical trials was however inconsistent, where most if not all studies linking high sugar intake to obesity focused on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and studies focusing on sugars from solid foods yielded null findings. In our opinion the substantial limitations in the current body of evidence such as short study duration, use of supraphysiological doses of sugar or fructose alone in animal studies, lack of direct comparison of the effects of solid vs. liquid sugars on health outcomes, as well as the lack of appropriate control seriously curtails the translatability of the findings to the real-world situation. It is quite possible that “high” sugar consumption at normal dietary doses (e.g., 25% daily energy intake) per se, i.e., the unique effect of sugar, especially in the solid form, may indeed not pose a health risk for individuals apart from the potential to reduce the overall dietary nutrient density, although newer evidence suggests “low” sugar intake (<5% daily energy intake) is just as likely to be associated with nutrient dilution. We argue the current public health recommendations to encourage the reduction of both solid and liquid forms of free sugars intake (e.g., sugar reformulation programs) should be revised due to the over-extrapolation of results from SSBs studies.

RE: Current WHO recommendation to reduce free sugar intake from all sources to below 10% of daily energy intake for supporting overall health is not well supported by available evidence

“…We read the review by Yan et al ( 1 ) with great interest. We were glad to see that our publication was referred to ( 2 ); however, our work is not represented accurately and we want to clarify the misconception.…”

Fructose, a trigger of metabolic diseases?—a narrative review

“…Indeed, a recent systematic review by Semnani-Azad et al [79] suggests that fructose and fructose-containing sugars when consumed in a 'matrix' of yogurt or fruit may have no adverse association with metabolic diseases. Also, Yan et al [158] recently pointed out that maybe the WHO guidelines for sugar intake for adults and children recommending to reduce free sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy intake [25], resulting in a maximum of ~50 g of free sugar in 2,000 kcal/day diet, might need to be revised due to an overextrapolation of results from studies focusing on SSB. Recommendations regarding sugar and/or fructose intake are by now also found in some national nutritional recommendations, e.g., Austria: 50 g free sugar/2,000 kcal, Germany: 50 g free sugar/2,000 kcal, France: 100 g sugar/day for adults [65,159] and in the guidelines for the treatment of several metabolic diseases [25,157].…”

Energiedichte von Lebensmitteln als Ernährungsstrategie bei der Gewichtsregulation

“…Dabei ist es an dieser Stelle irrelevant, ob die flüssige und schnell absorbierbare Energie aus Säften oder aus zugesetztem Zucker in Limonaden stammt. In der Literatur ist ebenfalls beschrieben, dass der Konsum energiehaltiger Getränke mit erhöhtem Gewicht assoziiert ist 67 68 69 und der Ersatz energiehaltiger Getränke durch Wasser oder kalorienfreie Getränke den Gewichtsverlust verbessert 10 . Milch als Nahrungsmittel nimmt eine Sonderstellung ein.…”