Sugar

Eating too much sugar contributes to excess energy (kilojoule) intake and can lead to weight gain and tooth decay.

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate and is either found naturally in foods such as fruit, or is refined and added to foods such as soft drink, lollies, ice-cream, cakes, sweet biscuits, chocolates and dried fruit.

Click here to visit the Food and Activity Calculator to find out how many teaspoons of sugar are found in commonly eaten foods.

Jar of lollies

Be aware that on packaged foods “no added sugar” does not necessarily mean there is no sugar at all; the product may in fact already contain large amounts of naturally occuring sugar.

The Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults recommend: ‘to consume moderate amounts of sugars and those foods containing sugar’.



Department of Health Heart Foundation Cancer Council Diabetes WA