US: Eat less added sugar, heart group urges

Consumers should cut the amount of added sugar in their diet, the American Heart Association has urged.

Men should consume no more than 150 calories of added sugar a day, the association warned yesterday (24 August). The body lowered the limit further for women - setting a celing of 100 calories.

The association's report, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, linked added sugar to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.

"Sugar has no nutritional value other than to provide calories," Rachel Johnson, associate provost and professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington and the report's author, said. "Consuming foods and beverages with excessive amounts of added sugars displaces more nutritious foods and beverages for many people."

The association cited a survey that measured US eating habits between 2001 and 2004 that said the average American consumed 355 calories of added sugar a day.

Johnson said consumers that could not meet the association's recommendations would have to take more exercise to burn off the extra sugar. 

"It is important to remember that people's discretionary calorie 'budgets' can vary, depending on their activity level and energy needs," Johnson said. "So, if you can't live with the recommended limits on your added sugars, you'll have to move more."