Why Global Health Authorities Recommend a Cap on Added Sugar

What Happened

WHO recommends that free sugars make up less than 10% of daily energy intake for adults and children, with a conditional recommendation to go below 5% for additional benefit — based on evidence linking free-sugar intake to weight gain and dental caries.

Informational content based on peer-reviewed research and major health authority guidelines — not medical advice.

Why It Matters

WHO's conditional recommendation to go below 5% — a stricter bar than the standard 10% guideline — signals the evidence for benefit doesn't stop at the more commonly cited threshold.

Two separate harm pathways — metabolic and dental — not just one.

FET's Takeaway

Dental caries sitting alongside weight gain as a justification is often overlooked in reformulation conversations that focus purely on metabolic health — added sugar has at least two distinct, well-established harm pathways.