Most preschoolers eat too much sugar, new Guelph study shows

A new study from the University of Guelph has found many preschoolers in the city are eating more than the recommended amount of sugar on a daily basis.

Children should only get five to 10 per cent of daily energy from free sugar, or sugars added to food or drinks, as recommended by the World Health Organization, Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

But the new research, based on the Guelph Family Health Study, found eight of 10 preschoolers ate more that the five per cent limit of free sugar while one in three children ate more than the 10 per cent recommendation.

"We were anticipating that they're probably having a little more sugar in their diet than they should be having. But we were certainly surprised by eight in 10. That's a lot," said David Ma, a professor of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the university and director of the Guelph Family Health Study.

The study, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal Open, looked at 109 children between the ages of 18 months and five years old from the Guelph area who are taking part in the multi-year health study. Parents recorded what the children ate on a daily basis

The extra sugar often came from baked goods, sweet treats, cereals, grain products and drinks.

Ma says while the study is focused on Guelph families, it's the first study in Canada to look at how much sugar preschoolers are eating.