Understanding the WHO and AHA sugar limits
The table below summarizes each guideline, its basis and how it is calculated.
| Guideline | Limit | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| WHO strong recommendation | Under 10% of total energy | Free sugars: added sugars plus honey, syrups, and fruit juice/concentrate sugars |
| WHO conditional recommendation | Under 5% of total energy | Free sugars, for additional health benefit (particularly dental caries) |
| AHA limit, men | ≤36 g/day (~150 kcal, ~9 tsp) | Added sugars, fixed regardless of calorie intake |
| AHA limit, women | ≤25 g/day (~100 kcal, ~6 tsp) | Added sugars, fixed regardless of calorie intake |
- The WHO's "free sugars" and the AHA's "added sugars" are closely related but not perfectly identical concepts; both exclude sugars intrinsic to whole fruit, vegetables and milk.
- The WHO limits in this calculator scale with the calorie intake you enter, while the AHA figures are fixed maximums that do not change with calorie intake.
- The WHO's 5% target is a conditional recommendation for additional benefit, not the organization's core guidance, which is the 10% strong recommendation.
- These are population-level public health guidelines; individual circumstances such as diabetes may call for different, personalized targets set with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian.
How much sugar is recommended per day?
The World Health Organization's 2015 guideline on sugars intake makes a strong recommendation that free sugars — sugars added to foods and drinks by a manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates — should make up less than 10% of total daily energy intake for adults and children. It adds a conditional recommendation to reduce free-sugar intake further, to below 5% of total energy, for additional health benefit, particularly for dental caries. Sugar supplies approximately 4 kilocalories per gram, the standard energy value this calculator uses to convert the WHO's percentage-of-energy guidance into grams.
WHO's free-sugar definition specifically excludes sugars naturally present in intact fresh fruit and vegetables, and sugars in milk, distinguishing it from a simple count of "total sugars" on a nutrition label. Separately, the American Heart Association recommends most adults limit added sugars — a closely related but not identical concept, referring to sugars and syrups added during food processing or preparation — to no more than 150 kcal/day (about 36 g, or 9 teaspoons) for men and 100 kcal/day (about 25 g, or 6 teaspoons) for women, figures that do not scale with an individual's total calorie intake the way the WHO percentage-based guidance does.
How to use this sugar limit calculator
- Enter your typical daily calorie intake.
- Select your sex, which determines the AHA added-sugar figure shown.
- Read the WHO 10% (strong recommendation) and 5% (conditional, for additional benefit) free-sugar limits in grams and teaspoons.
- Compare these with the fixed AHA added-sugar limit, and check ingredient/nutrition labels for "added sugars" or total sugar content to track your intake against these figures.
The formula behind your sugar limits
The WHO limits are calculated as a percentage of your entered calorie intake, converted to grams using sugar's energy density of 4 kcal/g, then to teaspoons using the average weight of a level teaspoon of granulated sugar. The AHA limit is a fixed value by sex, independent of calorie intake.
Common mistakes
- Confusing WHO's "free sugars" (added sugars plus honey, syrups and fruit juice/concentrate sugars) with total sugars, which also includes sugars naturally present in whole fruit, vegetables and milk that WHO excludes from the free-sugar count.
- Treating the AHA's added-sugar limit as scaling with calorie intake the way the WHO figures do — the AHA's 36 g (men) and 25 g (women) figures are fixed maximums.
- Assuming the WHO's 5% conditional target is mandatory — the WHO's core strong recommendation is under 10% of energy, with under 5% offered as an additional-benefit target.
- Using a flat "4 grams per teaspoon" rule for all sweeteners — a level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs about 4.2 g, and other sweeteners such as honey or syrup differ in density and are not directly interchangeable.
الأسئلة الشائعة
What is the WHO's recommended sugar limit?
The World Health Organization strongly recommends that free sugars make up less than 10% of total daily energy intake for both adults and children, and conditionally recommends reducing this further to below 5% for additional health benefits, particularly for dental health. Free sugars include sugars added to food and drinks, plus those in honey, syrups, and fruit juices.
What counts as a 'free sugar' under WHO guidance?
WHO defines free sugars as monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. It excludes sugars found naturally in intact fresh fruit and vegetables, and sugars naturally present in milk.
How much added sugar does the AHA recommend per day?
The American Heart Association recommends most men limit added sugars to no more than 36 grams (about 150 kcal, or 9 teaspoons) per day, and most women to no more than 25 grams (about 100 kcal, or 6 teaspoons) per day. Unlike the WHO's percentage-of-energy guidance, these AHA figures are fixed and do not scale with an individual's total calorie intake.
Does fruit sugar count toward these limits?
Sugar naturally present in intact, whole fruit does not count as a free sugar under WHO's definition and is not included in these limits. However, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates do count as free sugars, because processing releases the sugars from the fruit's cellular structure.
Why do men and women have different AHA sugar limits?
The American Heart Association's added-sugar limits — 150 kcal/day for men and 100 kcal/day for women — are set as a fixed proportion of typical calorie needs for each sex, rather than scaling with an individual's actual calorie intake the way the WHO's percentage-based guidance does.
المراجع
- World Health Organization. Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children. WHO, Geneva, 2015.
- Johnson RK, Appel LJ, Brands M, et al. Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2009; 120(11): 1011–1020.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 (added sugars under 10% of calories).
- USDA FoodData Central — granulated sugar, approximate weight per teaspoon.