Exposure to excessive sugar at a young age can shape children’s dietary preferences for life.

Check out the latest research on how guidelines about how much added sugar is healthy are based on adult diets—but they don’t work for children under five.

And thanks to marketing and unequal access to healthy food, children in low-income households and in communities of color are even more exposed to health risks from excessive sugar.

Our children health is at stake, but the food industry has used its power and influence to prevent policies that would better inform parents and help them make good decisions about what their kids eat.

Ask a Scientist

Based on what we now know about added sugar, what do parents need to do to protect their children?

The FDA’s recent revisions to the nutrition facts label that appears on most processed food packages was an important step forward in labeling added sugars and recommending a percent daily value for it.

Unfortunately, the daily values on labels for most food marketed to children are based on adult diets. So parents should heed health recommendations for children when buying foods and beverages for their kids.

The American Heart Association just recently recommended that children under 18 should not consume more than 25 grams—approximately six teaspoons—of added sugar per day, and that children under 2 avoid added sugars altogether.

Parents also should remain skeptical of front-of-package health claims and always check the ingredients list when browsing grocery store shelves. READ MORE

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