Sugar is a “hidden” ingredient in many of the foods we eat.

The World Health Organisation is suggesting people cut the amount of sugar in their diet by half if they want to improve their health.

Current WHO guidelines say sugars make up less than ten per cent of total energy intake per day for adults and children. For adults of a normal weight, this is the equivalent of around 50g – about 12 level teaspoons of sugar.

In new draft guidelines, subject to consultation, the WHO maintains its original advice that sugars should be less than ten per cent of total energy intake per day.

It argues that cutting this intake to less than five per cent would bring “additional health benefits” and is the “ideal” figure that people should aim for.

According to nutrition scientist Verner Wheelock, founder of Skipton-based Verner Wheelock Associates which provides food industry training, the public needs a very clear message to reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates they are consuming.

Verner is a firm believer in the idea that reducing sugar intake can control diabetes – a condition which puts sufferers at an increased risk of developing a range of other conditions such as heart disease, obesity, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Sugar is present in many common foods. There has been a huge increase in the consumption of soft drinks and manufactured products which contain sugar over the past 50 years,” says Verner.

“Of particular concern is the growth in so-called “healthy” low-fat products, which are often formulated by removing the fat and replacing it with sugar.

“One of the big problems is that the Government and health professionals continue to press for a reduction in saturated fat, even though this recommendation can no longer be justified. In fact, many of the individual saturated fats are extremely nutritious,” says Verner.

He says the Government’s Responsibility Deal with the retail multiples still pushes a reduction in saturated fat.

“Hence the problem for many people who are trying to comply with the healthy eating recommendations is that they finish up increasing their intake of sugars/carbohydrates because of their attempts to reduce their saturated fat,” he says.

“Finally we now know that cancer cells can only survive on glucose. Many cancer patients have successfully overcome the disease by severely restricting their intake of sugar and carbohydrates.”

The WHO guidelines follow several studies on the impact of sugar on obesity and dental cavities, including the role of “hidden” sugars.

The WHO’s limits on intake of sugars apply to all monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar).

These are added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or the consumer, and are also sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.

Dr Wheelock welcomes the revision to the WHO’s guidelines to reduce our sugar intake as a ‘major step forward’.

England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, recently suggested the introduction of a sugar tax.

“We haven’t managed to get over to the public how calorie packed fruit juices, smoothies, colas and carbonated drinks are. We need to have a big education to know one is fine, but not lots of them,” she said.

“We may need to move to some sort of sugar tax, but I hope we don’t have to.”

Julia Burrows, consultant in public health in Bradford, says: “What the WHO is doing is launching a public consultation about the guidelines on sugar intake, and I think that’s a really useful thing. It is getting people to think about sugar in their diet.

“We always had the advice, less sugar, but what this consultation is doing is thinking about what should be the upper limit of sugar intake a day to maximise our health – that will be a really useful debate to be had.

“It is raising the issue in people’s minds, getting people to think about not just sugar but a balanced diet and I think what we should be thinking of is not just the impact on obesity but on dental decay.

“We have one of the highest rates of dental decay in the region in five year olds. It is a really big issue, and sugar plays a part in that dental decay.”