Toddlers Eating Too Much Sugar

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Doctors recommend that children younger than 2 consume no added sugar. But in a national survey of parents of infants and toddlers ages six to 23 months, nearly 85 percent consumed added sugars on a given day. About two-thirds of infants consumed added sugars (almost a teaspoon a day), mostly from yogurt, baby food and snacks, and bakery products. A whopping 98 percent of toddlers consumed added sugars (they took in 5.8 teaspoons a day); top sweets were fruit drinks, candy, and bakery products. On the bright side, between 2005 and 2016, the average amount of added sugars dropped by 0.6 teaspoons in infants and by 1.5 teaspoons in toddlers. Cut your kids’ intake by eliminating all sugar- sweetened drinks (including juice), serving more vegetables and fruits, and planning for healthy snacks to avoid unexpected junk food buys.
SOURCE: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published online Nov. 12, 2019