Recommended Sugar Consumption

According to the American Heart Association, the average woman should consume about 6 teaspoons (100 calories) of added sugar per day, and the average man should consume about 9 teaspoons (150 calories) of added sugar per day.  Children ages 4 to 8 should limit added sugar to about 3 teaspoons a day. To put this into perspective, a 12-ounce can of coca cola contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar (140 calories) and a 2.6-ounce bag of skittles has about 11 teaspoons of sugar (180 calories).  It is clear that most Americans consume much more added sugar than the daily recommendation.  On average, Americans eat about 20 teaspoons of added sugar every day and children (ages 4 to 8) eat about 21 teaspoons of added sugar each day.  This shows that America has a sugar problem.  In fact, the Center for Disease Control has predicted that by 2050, one in three Americans will have diabetes.  
  


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