The Importance of Limiting Your Child’s Sugar Intake

A child’s first taste of ice cream, cookies, and soda officially establishes their desire for sweet treats. Even if you successfully limit your child to one “sugar of the day,” chances are they look forward to that special treat and enjoy every bite — and probably ask for more, often. 

Unfortunately, most children in the United States don’t just eat a cookie or two after lunch. On average, added sugars account for up to 17% of what American kids consume each day. 

When nearly 1 in 5 of their daily calories comes from sugar, a child’s health can suffer. At Laurel Pediatric & Teen Medical Center in Bel Air, Maryland, our expert team knows that good nutrition is key at every age and stage of development. 

Here, we look at the importance of limiting your child’s sugar intake.

Health effects of excess sugar

Aside from providing simple carbohydrates (readily accessible energy to burn), sugar is just a source of empty calories devoid of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. And when consumed in excess, sugar is unhealthy in many ways. 

Inflammation 

A high sugar intake is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation, which can set the stage for chronic disease down the road. This largely hidden downside of a sugar-rich diet is often overshadowed by its most obvious drawback: weight gain. 

Excess fat 

Eating too much sugar is the primary cause of weight gain in children and adolescents. In the United States, 1 in 6 kids (16%) qualifies as overweight, and 1 in 5 five (19%) has obesity. Even at younger ages, excess weight increases the risk of:

• Insulin resistance
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

These health effects, in turn, help set the stage for heart disease; elevated blood pressure at age 18 is a significant risk factor for heart disease later in life.

Dental decay

Excess sugar consumption is also the main driver of tooth decay — the most common health problem among people of all ages worldwide, including children.

Mood changes

Kids who eat and/or drink too much sugar are more likely to experience rapid mood changes, energy crashes, and brain fog as their blood sugar levels fight to stabilize.

Added sugars vs. natural sugars

When evaluating your child’s sugar intake, focus mainly on added sugars. Natural sugars inherently occur — often at relatively low levels and accompanied by dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals — in healthy foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

As its name implies, added sugars are added to a food product during preparation or processing to make it sweeter. Many foods and beverages have extra sugar and syrups added to them, and these added sugars have many names, such as:

• Brown sugar, molasses
• Corn sweetener, corn syrup
• Dextrose, fructose, glucose
• Lactose, maltose, sucrose 
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey, raw sugar, malt syrup

Added sugars are everywhere — in unhealthy cookies, of course, but also in “healthy” yogurt products. Fortunately, many nutrition labels list added sugars as a separate category, making it easier to see what your child consumes. 

Sugar consumption guidelines 

The American Heart Association recommends that babies and toddlers younger than 2 consume no added sugars — and should only eat naturally occurring sugars found in fruit and other healthy foods.

After age 2, guidelines advise parents of kids and teens to limit their added sugar consumption to less than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) per day, while limiting sugary beverages to no more than 8 ounces per week.

As you might imagine, a child’s added sugar consumption can add up fast (especially when kids ask for seconds). You find about 12 grams — or 2.5 teaspoons — of added sugar in:

• One serving of boxed cereal
• One fruit-filled snack bar
• Two average-sized cookies

A typical sports drink can have more than a day’s worth of sugar — a 20-ounce bottle may contain 30-35 grams of added sugar.

Controlling added sugar intake

Adding up the added sugars in your child’s diet is the first step toward making healthier choices. For most children, the biggest source of added sugar isn’t what they eat — it’s what they drink. 

We recommend sticking with water while limiting fruit juice, lemonade, soda, and sports drinks. 

We also recommend working to establish healthier eating patterns built on whole foods. Instead of buying sweetened fruit yogurt cups for them to snack on, for example, choose unsweetened yogurt and add some naturally sweet berries.

Worried about your child’s added sugar intake? We can help. Schedule a visit by phone or online at Laurel Pediatric & Teen Medical Center today.