World Health Organisation Recommendation on Consumption of Added Sugars

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Health (a) whether HPB follows the recommendation of the World Health Organisation that a person should reduce the consumption of added sugars to less than 5 per cent of the normal daily energy intake, at around 22g of added sugars a day; and (b) if so, whether this is recommended to institutions and in public programmes.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: The World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommendation is for adults and children to reduce daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. This is consistent with the policy position adopted by the Health Promotion Board.

The 5% level is what WHO refers to as a "conditional recommendation". WHO has explained that a conditional recommendation is one "where the desirable effects of adhering to the recommendation probably outweigh the undesirable effects but these trade-offs need to be clarified; therefore, stakeholder dialogue and consultations are needed before the recommendation is implemented as policy."