Added Sugars

Added sugars are the sweeteners put into food and drinks during manufacturing — think sugar in soft drinks, cakes, and sauces, not the natural sugar in whole fruit. These sugars provide calories without nutrition and are easily over-consumed, contributing directly to weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.

Added sugars refer to caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages during processing or preparation, including sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and concentrated fruit juices. They are distinct from naturally occurring sugars in intact fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Excess consumption promotes de novo lipogenesis in the liver, contributes to insulin resistance, and is strongly associated with obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome. The WHO recommends limiting added sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake.

Singaporeans consume an average of 12 teaspoons of sugar daily — well above health recommendations — largely from sugar-sweetened beverages. Reducing added sugar intake is one of the highest-impact dietary changes for weight management and metabolic health improvement.