Free sugars vs intrinsic sugars: what's the difference?
The World Health Organization's 2015 guideline on sugars intake defines "free sugars" as monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods or drinks by a manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. This definition specifically excludes sugars that are intrinsic to the structure of intact fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as sugars naturally present in milk.
This distinction matters because it separates sugars added during processing or preparation, and sugars released from their cellular structure through processing (as in fruit juice), from sugars that remain within a whole food's intact structure. An apple eaten whole contains intrinsic sugars not counted as free sugars, but the same apple's sugars, once juiced, count as free sugars under the WHO definition — a distinction that is not always obvious from a nutrition label's "total sugars" figure alone.
The WHO's 10% and 5% energy recommendations
The WHO's 2015 guideline makes a strong recommendation that free sugars make up less than 10% of total daily energy intake for both adults and children. It adds a separate, conditional recommendation to reduce free-sugar intake further, to below 5% of total energy, for additional health benefit — a target the guideline particularly links to reduced risk of dental caries. The 5% target is explicitly labeled "conditional" in the guideline, meaning the evidence supporting it was assessed as less strong than the evidence behind the 10% strong recommendation, though the WHO still presents it as a target offering further benefit.
Because these recommendations are expressed as a percentage of energy rather than a fixed gram amount, the corresponding gram limit scales with an individual's total calorie intake. Sugar supplies approximately 4 kilocalories per gram, which is the standard conversion used to translate the percentage-of-energy guidance into grams: for example, at a 2,000 kcal/day intake, the 10% limit is 2,000 × 0.10 ÷ 4 = 50 g/day, and the 5% limit is 2,000 × 0.05 ÷ 4 = 25 g/day.
AHA added-sugar gram limits
The American Heart Association takes a related but distinct approach, recommending most adults limit added sugars — a closely related but not identical concept to the WHO's "free sugars" — to a fixed daily amount rather than a percentage of individual calorie intake. The AHA's figures, from a 2009 scientific statement published in Circulation, are no more than about 150 kcal/day (approximately 36 g, or about 9 teaspoons) for men, and no more than about 100 kcal/day (approximately 25 g, or about 6 teaspoons) for women.
Unlike the WHO's percentage-based figures, these AHA limits do not scale with an individual's actual calorie intake — they are fixed maximums set as a proportion of typical population-level calorie needs for each sex. This is a meaningful practical difference: someone eating well above or below typical calorie levels will see their WHO-based limit shift accordingly, while their AHA-based limit stays the same.
Reading nutrition labels: the added-sugars line
In the United States, the Nutrition Facts label includes a distinct "Added Sugars" line beneath "Total Sugars," following a U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling requirement. This line is intended to help consumers separate sugars added during processing or preparation from the total sugar content of a food, which also includes any naturally occurring sugars (such as those in dairy or fruit ingredients). Checking the added-sugars figure specifically, rather than the total-sugars figure, is a more direct way to track intake against the WHO's free-sugar or the AHA's added-sugar guidance, since both concepts are closer to "added" than to "total" sugar content.
Ingredient lists provide an additional check, since added sugars can appear under many names — including sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, agave syrup, fruit juice concentrate, and dextrose, among others — and are typically listed in descending order by weight.
Visualizing sugar in teaspoons
Because gram figures can be difficult to picture, sugar guidance is often translated into teaspoons using the approximate weight of a level teaspoon of granulated sugar, about 4.2 grams. Using this conversion, the WHO's 10% limit at 2,000 kcal/day (50 g) is approximately 11.9 teaspoons, and the 5% limit (25 g) is approximately 6 teaspoons. The AHA's fixed limits of about 36 g (men) and 25 g (women) correspond to roughly 9 and 6 teaspoons respectively, the approximate figures the AHA itself cites in its guidance.
This teaspoon conversion is a useful rule of thumb specifically for granulated table sugar; other sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup have different densities and are not directly interchangeable with this figure on a teaspoon-for-teaspoon basis.
Applying the guidelines practically
Because the WHO's free-sugar limit scales with calorie intake while the AHA's added-sugar limit is fixed by sex, the two guidelines will not always produce identical gram targets for the same person — both are legitimate, published public-health reference points rather than contradictory advice, reflecting slightly different definitions and methodologies. For most people, checking the "Added Sugars" line on nutrition labels against either the WHO's percentage-based target (using entered calorie intake) or the AHA's fixed gram limit is a practical way to track daily intake.
These are population-level public health guidelines. Individual circumstances, including diabetes or other metabolic conditions, may call for different, personalized targets set in consultation with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian, rather than relying on general population thresholds alone.
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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 benefit, particularly for dental health. Free sugars include sugars added to food and drinks plus those naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices, but exclude sugars intrinsic to whole fruit, vegetables and milk.
What counts as a 'free sugar' under WHO guidance?
The WHO defines free sugars as monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods or drinks by a manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. It excludes sugars found naturally within 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's 2009 scientific statement recommends most men limit added sugars to no more than about 150 kcal/day (approximately 36 g, or about 9 teaspoons), and most women to no more than about 100 kcal/day (approximately 25 g, or about 6 teaspoons). 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 juice count toward the WHO sugar limit?
Yes. Although sugar naturally present in intact, whole fruit is excluded from the WHO's free-sugar definition, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates do count as free sugars, because processing releases the sugars from the fruit's cellular structure. This is a common point of confusion, since juice is often perceived as equivalent to whole fruit.
How do I find added sugars on a nutrition label?
In the United States, the Nutrition Facts label includes a specific 'Added Sugars' line listed beneath 'Total Sugars,' as required by U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling rules. Checking this line, rather than the total-sugars figure (which also includes naturally occurring sugars), gives a more direct read on added sugar content relative to WHO or AHA guidance.
How many teaspoons of sugar is the WHO's 5% limit?
Using the approximate weight of a level teaspoon of granulated sugar (about 4.2 g) and the WHO's 5% conditional recommendation, someone eating 2,000 kcal/day would have a 5% limit of 25 g, or approximately 6 teaspoons. This figure scales with calorie intake, since the WHO recommendation is expressed as a percentage of total energy rather than a fixed gram amount.
Kaynaklar
- 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.