The move puts all kid-centered foods, whether it be yogurt or sweetened cereals, on notice for even greater scrutiny from health-conscious parents and caregivers, but its impact will be especially acute for sugary drinks. Just one 20-ounce Pepsi, for example, contains 69 grams of sugar - nearly triple the limit AHA is recommending for a teenager. The new guidelines, published in AHA's journal "Circulation" on Monday, also recommend for all children limiting sugary drink consumption to just 8 ounces per week and for kids under age 2 not to consume any added sugars, in part to keep their palates from developing a preference for overly sweet foods.
Health advocates cheered the news, which comes ahead of the FDA's new mandate that food-makers label added sugars:
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation president and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey called the recommendation "a watershed moment in our ongoing efforts to help children and families lead healthier lives."
- The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it "strongly supports" the "science-based recommendations and hopes they are widely promoted by physicians, followed by parents, and most important, used by policymakers to help shape healthful futures for children."
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