HIDDEN SOURCES OF SUGAR
THAT COULD BE IN KIDS’ DIETS
Childhood obesity is preventable, especially when parents learn to identify hidden sources
of sugar that could be putting kids’ health in jeopardy through their 50s and beyond.
Offer fresh fruit in lieu of packaged
• Sauces: Many kids look forward
to nights when pasta is
the main course at the dinner
table. But even parents who
serve whole grain pastas could
be unknowingly serving up a
sizable amount of sugar if they
aren’t careful about which sauce
they buy at the store. Some pasta
sauces contain as much as
12 grams of sugar per half-cup
serving. Barbecue sauces also
tend to be high in sugar, which
underscores the importance of
reading labels before serving up
saucy meals.
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Childhood obesity poses a serious
threat to the long-term
health of kids across the globe.
According to the World Health
Organization, 39 million children
under the age of fi ve were
overweight or obese in 2020.
That means that tens of millions
of kids across the globe are facing
a serious and potentially
chronic health problem before
they even begin kindergarten.
The data pertaining to childhood
obesity is undoubtedly alarming,
but the good news is that
obesity is preventable. Parents
can provide nutritious foods for
children and help them establish
healthy eating habits at an early
age, which could lay the foundation
for a lifelong commitment
to eating right.
One of the issues parents may
encounter when planning kids’
diets is foods that seem healthy
but are actually hidden sources
of sugar. That’s a big problem, as
Johns Hopkins Medicine notes
that excess sugar consumption is
associated with an elevated risk
for cardiovascular disease. Sugar
consumption has long been
linked to obesity, which is one
reason why the WHO recommended
in 2015 that individuals
get less than 10 percent of their
daily calories from sugar. On
the surface, it may seem simple
for parents to heed that warning
from the WHO. However, various
foods and beverages, including
ones kids typically love, are
hidden sources of sugar. Identifying
those foods and avoiding
them or choosing versions that
are not high in sugar can help
kids maintain healthy weights.
• Cereals: Parents may fondly
recall overindulging in cereals
with popular cartoon mascots on
the box as kids. No matter how
much nostalgia such memories
may generate, parents must resist
the temptation to recreate
them for their own children.
That’s because many popular
cereals marketed to children are
loaded with sugar. However,
even seemingly healthy cereals
could be loaded with sugar. Read
nutrition labels before buying
cereal for kids. Johns Hopkins
Medicine recommends choosing
cereals with 10 to 12 grams or
less of sugar per serving.
• Beverages: Sugar-laden beverages
like sodas, certain juices
and even some fl avored waters
increase kids’ risk of being
overweight or obese. Encourage
youngsters to drink more water
and only serve sugary beverages
on special occasions.
• Packaged fruits: Here’s another
food that appears healthy on
the surface but could be anything
but. WebMD notes that a
one-cup serving of mandarin
oranges in light syrup contains
right around 39 grams of sugar.
fruits.
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