Sweet Talk : Is Sugar Safe For Children?

Dr Phang: The intake of excessive sugary foods and especially beverages contribute to the increased energy intake from ’empty calories’, and can lead to unhealthy weight gain, especially when paired with a sedentary lifestyle. Often children (and even adults) underestimate how much sugar goes into sweetened beverages or foods. For example, how many of us are aware that a can of Cola contains 6 teaspoons of sugar, a bottle of popular berry drink has 13 teaspoons of sugar, or some cans of commercial iced tea may contain 16 teaspoons of sugar? Unless they are weight-watchers themselves or are well-read on the subject, most parents may be completely unaware of this.

Obesity is on the rise, and up to 30% of Malaysian children are currently affected. Overweight and obese children are at higher risk of developing serious health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, liver problems, gallstones, sleep disorders, and even depression.

Childhood obesity also increases the risk of noncommunicable diseases, premature death and disability in adulthood. Obese children are likely to grow up to become obese adults (there is a 50% risk of an obese 6 year old to become an obese adult, and between 70-80% risk of an obese teenager to become an obese adult). Worse still, even if an overweight child loses this weight, he/she will still have a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease (twofold risk).