CDC: Kids consume too much sugar, mostly from processed foods

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(CBS) Kids are getting way too much added sugar in their diets, according to a new report from the CDC, and that could raise their risk for obesity and chronic diseases.

PICTURES - Sugary cereals: Which are the 10 "worst"?

The report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics found the percent of calories kids take in through added sugar declined between 2007 and 2008. But the report also found 16 percent of total calories consumed came from added sugars. Boys were found to take in more of the sweet stuff: 16.3 percent of boys' calorie intakes, compared to 15.5 percent in girls. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommends limiting intake of discretionary calories, including added sugars and solid fats, to a total of 5 percent to 15 percent daily.

"Boys 12 to 19 got 442 calories [a day] from [added] sugar," study author Dr. Cynthia L. Ogden, an epidemiologist at the NCHS, told WebMD. "A little over three regular sodas a day would give you that."

Consuming added sugars has been tied to an increased risk for heart disease among adolescents and cholesterol problems, according to the CDC.

"The amount of sugar consumed is still extraordinarily high," Dr. Robert Lustig, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, told WebMD. "The amount is still so far over what any rational physician, dietitian, or government agency would have us be eating."

Lustig proposed in a February commentary that sugar should be regulated by the government because it is "toxic," unavoidable, and there is potential for abuse, HealthPop reported.

Other notable findings from the report: Non-Hispanic white children and adolescents consume a larger percent of their calories from added sugars than do Mexican-American children and adolescents. There was no difference in sugar consumption by income.

Where are all these added sugars coming from? The report said 59 percent of added-sugar calories come from foods and 41 percent from beverages, but soft drinks are still the single biggest source of added sugar. What's more, the report found most added sugar calories were consumed at home, not at schools which are often the target of nutritional legislation.

"Soda consumption is high, but we shouldn't lose sight of the added sugars in foods such as muffins, cookies, sugar-sweetened cereals and pasta sauces," Ogden told USA Today. "Many processed foods have added sugars. Those foods contribute more than the beverages."

What can be done to reduce sugar intake?

Dr. Wendy Slusser, an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles, told MSNBC that the new report is an opportunity for families to choose healthier options for their kids at home.

"Parents think they're doing what they're supposed to when they give their kids sports drinks on a hot day," she said. "If you substitute water for sugary drinks, that's a huge step in the right direction."

She also said sugar intake could be lowered in the home by switching to a healthier cereal brand. A report by the Environmental Working Group pegged the 10 worst cereals in terms of sugar content, HealthPop reported. The group found Kellogg's Honey Smacks contained the most, with nearly 56 percent of the cereal being made of sugar.

Paul Pestano, a researcher with the EWG told WebMD people should "Try to limit processed foods because that is mostly where it comes from." He said these processed foods include granola bars, cookies, candies, jams, syrups, and even canned fruit.

More than one-third of American children and adolescents are obese. The CDC has more information on healthy tips for parents.

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Sugary cereals: Which are the 10 "worst?"

[mmitchell24]

There are some key elements missing if this is to be regarded as a credible resource in the issue of added sugars consumption among children.

While the authors do admit the fact that added sugars consumption has declined, they fail to put these figures in any kind of historical context—i.e., how much added sugar was consumed prior to increased rates of obesity.

When we do that, we see that added sugars consumption is only about 2 teaspoons (38 calories) higher than in the 1970s when the obesity epidemic was nonexistent. USDA consumption data shows we are consuming 425 more total calories than in 1970 and added sugars are not a major source of increased caloric intake. And over the last 10 years, total caloric sweeteners has decreased 9.7 percent.

The contents of the HHS brief are neither original nor helpful in addressing the obesity crisis—do adolescent males consume more calories from added sugar? Yes—and they always have. The reported consumption figures in no way show a causal relationship to obesity, cardiovascular disease or adverse cholesterol concentrations, as the authors have implied.

The issue of added sugars has been under scrutiny for years now and yet the ruling stands: There is no official recommendation for sugars intake according to both the Institute of Medicine and the European Food Safety Authority.

The intake limits cited by the authors, are merely a suggestion proposed by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, based on a mathematical formula—not scientific evidence or health-related impacts—used to generate the Food Guide Pyramid eating pattern. Nowhere do the Dietary Guidelines state that this is an official recommendation.

Even the American Dietetic Association (ADA), in its revised position paper on nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners concluded, "Thus, the suggestion of 6% to 10% of energy from added sugars was not based on any scientific evidence regarding health impacts (emphasis added) but was calculated using the Food Guide Pyramid."

Sugar has been part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle for 2,000 years—that much has not changed. But what has changed is the overall increase in calories and decrease in activity in our everyday lives. The best way to fight this obesity crisis is not by referencing mathematical formulas, but by allowing science to be the basis of nutrition policy and by working to live a more healthful lifestyle by eating less and exercising more.

[scwmd11]

Don't overlook the starches! It is not just the simple sugars that are excessive in the diets of children. They eat entirely too much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and other starches. The pancreas is designed to precisely manage brief elevations of blood sugars from limited amounts of simple sugars like from fruit - not the prolonged elevations of blood sugar resulting from starches.

[mikehartigan]

Kids are eating too much sugar? Who knew? Thank God the CDC is spending so much money sifting through the data to come up with these conclusions! Otherwise, we would just assume everything is hunky dory!

[lilmadguy]

There is a very distinct difference between believing something is true and actually being able to provide proof that it is. Now that there is documented, peer reviewed research that proves that children consume too much sugar, you no longer have to assume it.

[mikehartigan]

lilmadguy You're kidding, right?