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New AHA statement adds upper limit to added sugar intake, cites links with CV risk factors
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New recommendations from the American Heart Association include an upper limit on added sugar intake in adult men and women.
The scientific statement incorporated new evidence on the relationship between sugar intake and CV health gathered since the publication of the 2002 AHA Statement on Sugar Intake and CVD. In 2006, the AHA published an update to its recommendations for the intake of beverages and foods with added sugars. Citing results from several studies, the authors of the 2009 statement said that intake of excess sugars has been associated with risk factors for CVD such as elevated BP and higher triglyceride levels.
“Although the mechanisms are unclear, relative to other carbohydrate sources, sugar intake appears to be associated with increased triglyceride levels, a known risk factor for coronary heart disease,” the researchers wrote in the statement. “However, relative to other sources of carbohydrate, the effects of sugar intake on HDL and LDL levels remain unclear.”
The new statement expanded the recommendations of the 2006 AHA update by proposing an upper limit of intake for added sugars at half of the daily discretionary calorie allowance needed for a person to maintain healthy weight, which is approximately 100 calories in American women and 150 calories in American men. Current recommendations for added sugars vary from five teaspoons (80 calories) per day for a daily energy expenditure of 1,800 calories in the average adult woman and nine teaspoons (144 calories) for a daily energy expenditure of 2,200 calories in the average adult male.
“To achieve and maintain healthy weights and decrease CV risk, while at the same time meeting essential nutrient needs, the AHA encourages people to consume an overall healthy diet consistent with the AHA’s 2006 diet and lifestyle recommendations,” they concluded. “Most American women should eat or drink no more than 100 calories per day from added sugars, and most American men should eat or drink no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars.”
Johnson RK. Circulation. 2009;10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192627.
This is an important statement that has major implications for all of the readership of Cardiology Today, our family members, and our patients. We need to advise severe cutbacks in the amount of sugary drinks. Water is a much better alternative for our overweight patients who have multiple components of the metabolic syndrome or who have diabetes. Better dietary and exercise habits are the cornerstones of our prevention strategies.
Cardiology Today Section Editor