Kids’ sugar intake still too high: watch out for these 6 hidden sources
E-mail| Print | Comments () 02/29/2012 3:39 PM
When I took my sons to the pediatrian yesterday for their annual physicals, the doctor quizzed them on their diet and was pleased to hear that they drank little fruit juice, sports drinks, and sugar soda. Yet, had he pressed them further, he would have learned that my 11-and 13-year-old were still getting far too much added sugar -- something that continues to be a problem in American kids’ diets according to a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released today. On average, boys ages 2 to 19 consumed 16.3 percent of their calories from added sugars, while girls consumed 15.5 percent. That’s far above the 2010 Dietary Guidelines which recommend limiting intake of sugar and fat to 5 to 15 percent of daily caloric intake. (Added sugars -- found in processed foods -- include table sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, dextrose, and dextrin.) Kids’ sugar intake has decreased over the years most likely because parents have gotten the message loud and clear to limit sugary beverages. A study last year found that two-thirds of the decrease was due to a drop in soda consumption. And the CDC study found that nearly 60 percent of the sugars kids were consuming came from foods, not drinks. I took a look around my kitchen this morning and found more than a dozen sources of sugar that were a regular part of my sons’ diets including the three Buttermilk Eggo pancakes one son had for breakfast (12 grams) and the Balance Yogurt Honey Peanut protein bar (17 grams) another has for a daily snack. After perusing the supermarket, I found a number of other kid-friendly foods parents may not realize are packed with added sugar. These include. 1. Gogurt: The Yoplait squeezable yogurt tubes marketed to kids have 10 grams of sugar per 70-calorie tube. That compares to 6 grams of sugar in the 100-calorie pack of Lorna Doone cookies that I put in my kids’ lunches. 2. Mott’s Original Applesauce Cups: Each pre-packaged snack cup contains 25 grams of sugar compared to 11 grams of sugar in Mott’s Natural cups, which don’t contain added sugars, only fructose from the apple itself. 3. Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars: They contain 11 grams of sugar per two-bar serving. Surprisingly, Quaker’s Chocolate Chunk Granola Bar has only 7 grams of sugar per 90 calorie bar. The chocolate “Dipps” version though has 13 grams. 4. SpaghettiOs: The canned tomato sauce and pasta packs 13 grams of sugar into every serving. “Oh, no!” 5. Lunchables: The Oscar Mayer pre-packaged deli lunches aimed at kids pack a wallop of sugar. The Mini Hotdogs contains 34 grams of sugar per pack; the Ham & American Cheese Sub has 21 grams; and the Mini Burgers contain 34 grams. 6. Entenmann’s Little Bite Muffins: They’re not donuts but they may as well be since the 180-calorie Blueberry Muffin pack contains 14 grams of sugar -- same as the Little Bite Powdered Donuts.
Deborah Kotz can be reached at dkotz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @debkotz2. |
|
|
