Children under 2 years old should not eat/drink added sugar.
At a recent workshop providing information on the harmful effects of sugary drinks, Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that obesity has become a global problem. The rate of overweight and obesity, especially in children, is increasing rapidly, with 1 in 5 children being overweight or obese.
In Vietnam, this condition is also increasing rapidly in children. In big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the rate of overweight and obesity in children can reach up to 40%. This figure in adults is 20%, and in some localities it is up to nearly 30%.
Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition. Photo: N.Mai
According to Associate Professor Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai, studies show that a typical soft drink contains about 35g of sugar and very little other nutrients. Meanwhile, unreasonable use of sugary drinks is identified as the cause of overweight and obesity.
In addition, regular abuse of sugary drinks also increases the risk of diabetes, dental diseases, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, etc.
" According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the amount of free sugar in each person's diet should only account for no more than 10% and should be reduced to less than 5% of energy in a day to have additional health benefits; equivalent to less than 25 - 50g of free sugar per day for adults and less than 12 - 25g of sugar per day for children. Children under 2 years old should not consume any foods or drinks with added sugar" , Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai informed.
However, in reality, many parents still have the habit of adding sugar when preparing food for young children or giving their children bottled soft drinks. This poses many potential risks to the health of children later on.
Specifically analyzing this issue, the Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition said that parents need to change the habit of abusing children to eat/drink sugary products for two main reasons.
Firstly, for children under 2 years old, when parents feed them a variety of foods, the amount of sugar in natural foods is enough to meet the needs of children. Therefore, it is not necessary to use any other sugary foods. Adding sugar will lead to a state of excess sugar compared to the recommended needs. This is not good.
Second, children's taste buds are very easy to form habits. Therefore, feeding children too sweet or too salty foods is not beneficial for their future habits. Children will tend to like foods that are too sweet or too salty and abuse processed sweet/salty foods. Meanwhile, eating foods that are too sweet will contain a lot of sugar, and foods that are too salty will contain a lot of sodium, both of which are detrimental to health.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai, a child who regularly eats too much sweets will have an excess of empty energy but lack other nutrients. Not only that, eating/drinking too much sugar causes excess sugar compared to the child's needs, sugar gradually accumulates leading to the risk of overweight, obesity, and even leading to negative consequences for the child's health such as metabolic disorders, other malabsorption diseases...
Parents should limit children's sugar intake.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai, family is the best environment for children. Therefore, parents need to be aware of limiting the purchase of foods containing a lot of sugar to keep in the house and in the refrigerator so that children do not have the habit of abusing eating/drinking a lot of sugar.
Parents should limit sugar intake for children. Illustration photo
Parents should give their children filtered water and bottled water instead of soft drinks. Use the right amount of foods containing a lot of free sugars such as natural sugars (brown sugar, refined sugar, rock sugar, etc.) and sugary drinks (including soft drinks, tea and instant coffee, etc.), sweets, jams, etc.
In addition, parents need to carefully consider limiting the amount of sugar added to food when cooking and on the table for children. Give children fresh fruit with less sugar instead of sugary snacks, choose fresh fruit instead of dried fruit. When buying food and drinks for children, read the nutrition label, choose products with less free sugar so that children do not have excess sugar, which is harmful to their health.
Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Tuyet Mai recommends limiting children's intake of foods and drinks containing a lot of sugar.
Source
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)