Your One Cookie May Contain 10 Teaspoons Of Sugar: UK Research Group Cites Study To Press For Sugar Quotas

Action on Sugar, a team of researchers from Queen Mary University of London, and Obesity Health Alliance analysed sugar content in popular sweet snacks and came out with their findings & suggestions.

Representational image | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: A UK campaign group has said the sweet treats people love to snack on may contain “dangerously high” levels of sugar, as it urged the government to enforce sugar quotas on manufacturers.   

Action on Sugar, a team of researchers from Queen Mary University of London, and Obesity Health Alliance analysed the sugar content in popular sweet snacks and came out with their findings and suggestions.

According to the research done by the group, a single cookie bought at Aldi supermarket chain can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is more than the quantity found in a can of Coca Cola, the Daily Mail reported.

Brownies sold at Caffe Nero contain eight teaspoons of sugar, the campaign group claims, adding that doughnuts made by Krispy Kreme confectionery giant can contain three teaspoons of sugar. 

Action on Sugar argued that these products “can be made with far less sugar”, and called on lawmakers of the country to enforce sugar quotas on manufacturers if they are “serious about improving our health”.

The group also said there was “no uniformity” in and “limited access” to nutrition information on the labelling for the products.

A NEW snapshot product survey by @actiononsugar and @OHA_updates has exposed the huge variation in portion size and sugar content of popular ‘on the go’ sweet snacks sold in both retail and Out of Home-showing progress to reduce sugar is floundering https://t.co/pcghVNdP8i (1/9)

— Action On Sugar (@actiononsugar) April 8, 2022

‘Act Now’

Quoting Katharine Jenner, director and registered nutritionist at Action on Sugar, the report said the findings show the amount of sugar in the packaged food is “being deliberately kept away from public scrutiny”. 

“It is clear from our product survey that a voluntary approach to reformulation is not working with most retailers and coffee shops failing to make any significant reductions. These sugary products are enticingly placed near the tills and end of aisles for adults and children to grab ‘on the go’ with their daily coffee or sandwich, encouraging over consumption,” she said.

Caroline Cerny, alliance lead at Obesity Health Alliance, said the food industry can help people reduce sugar consumption but “not all companies are prepared to step up and play their part by reformulating their products”. 

She said there should be new regulation that would financially disincentivise companies from producing sugary products and marketing them. 

“If the Government is serious about improving our health, it needs to act now,” Cerny said. 

Recommended Sugar Levels  

For an adult with a normal body mass index (BMI), the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends only six teaspoons of added sugar, or 25 grams, a day. 

While the FDA recommends that sugar intake should not be more than 10 per cent of your daily calorie intake, the WHO says this should be 5 per cent only.

In the UK, people are advised to eat no more than 30 grams of added sugar, which is approximately seven sugar cubes, in a day, the Daily Mail report said. 

In India, the per capita consumption of sugar is approximately 10 spoons a day, and an average Indian eats almost 18 kg of sugar every year, excluding the sugars in hidden forms from different processed food items, according to a 2015 report by the Indian Journal of Community Medicine (IJCM).

Eating too much sugar is seen as a key reason for the rising obesity levels across the world.