WHO opens public consultation on draft sugars guideline

5 March 2014 | GENEVA - WHO is launching a public consultation on its draft guideline on sugars intake. When finalized, the guideline will provide countries with recommendations on limiting the consumption of sugars to reduce public health problems like obesity and dental caries (commonly referred to as tooth decay).

Comments on the draft guideline will be accepted via the WHO web site from 5 through 31 March 2014. Anyone who wishes to comment must submit a declaration of interests. An expert peer-review process will happen over the same period. Once the peer-review and public consultation are completed, all comments will be reviewed, the draft guidelines will be revised if necessary and cleared by WHO’s Guidelines Review Committee before being finalized.

New draft guideline proposals

WHO’s current recommendation, from 2002, is that sugars should make up less than 10% of total energy intake per day. The new draft guideline also proposes that sugars should be less than 10% of total energy intake per day. It further suggests that a reduction to below 5% of total energy intake per day would have additional benefits. Five per cent of total energy intake is equivalent to around 25 grams (around 6 teaspoons) of sugar per day for an adult of normal Body Mass Index (BMI).

The suggested limits on intake of sugars in the draft guideline apply to all monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) that are added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or the consumer, as well as sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.

Much of the sugars consumed today are “hidden” in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets. For example, 1 tablespoon of ketchup contains around 4 grams (around 1 teaspoon) of sugars. A single can of sugar-sweetened soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of sugar.

The draft guideline was formulated based on analyses of all published scientific studies on the consumption of sugars and how that relates to excess weight gain and tooth decay in adults and children.

• Read the draft guideline and submit your comments

Note to editors

Papers published with findings of two systematic reviews (analyses of published scientific studies) commissioned by WHO that informed the development of the draft guidelines:

• Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies
  Conducted by the University of Otago, New Zealand) published in the BMJ
• Effect on caries of restricting sugars intake: Systematic review to inform WHO guidelines
  Conducted by Newcastle University, UK) published in the Journal of Dental Research

For more information please contact:

Tarik Jasarevic
WHO, Geneva
Communications Officer
Telephone: +41 22 791 5099
Mobile: +41 79367 6214
E-mail:jasarevict@who.int

Glenn Thomas
WHO, Geneva
WHO Communications Officer
Telephone: +41 22 791 3983
Mobile: +41 79 509 0677
E-mail:thomasg@who.int

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Worm research: Right combination of sugars regulates brain development

Sep. 19, 2013 — If the development of our nervous system is disturbed, we risk developing serious neurological diseases, impairing our sensory systems, movement control or cognitive functions. This is true for all organisms with a well-developed nervous system, from man to worm. New research from BRIC, University of Copenhagen reveals how a tiny molecule called mir-79 regulates neural development in roundworms. The molecule is required for correct migration of specific nerve cells during development and malfunction causes defects in the nervous system of the worm. The research has just been published in the journal Science.

Hundreds of worms lie in a small plastic plate under the laboratory microscope. Over the last three years, the group of Associate Professor Roger Pocock has used the roundworm C. elegans to study the development of the nervous system. They have just made an important discovery.

"Our new results show that a small molecule called mir-79 is indispensable for development of the worm's nervous system. mir-79 acts by equipping special signal molecules with a transmitter, which tells the nerve cells how they should migrate during development of the worm. If we remove mir-79 with gene technology, development of the worm nervous system goes awry," says postdoc Mikael Egebjerg Pedersen, who is responsible for the experimental studies.

Mir-79 adds just the right combination of sugar

The research shows that mir-79 acts by controlling the addition of certain groups of sugars to selected signaling molecules. In the world of cells, sugar molecules act as transmitters.

When the nerve cells come into contact with the sugar-transmitters, they are informed where to locate themselves during neural development. If the researchers remove mir-79, the migration of the nerve cells is misguided causing neuronal defects in the worms.

"It has earlier been shown that signaling molecules guide nerve migration, but our research shows that mir-79 regulates nerve cell migration by controlling the correct balance of sugar-transmitters on signaling molecules. If mir-79 does not function, the worm nervous system is malformed. In the wild, such defects would be harmful for worm survival," says Roger Pocock who leads the research group behind the finding.

Worm studies reveal important clues for neuronal repair

A version of mir-79 called mir-9 is found in humans. Therefore, these results are important for understanding how our nervous system develops during fetal development. In addition, the results add to the understanding of how nerve cells may be stimulated to repair damage in our brain or spinal cord.

"Our nervous system is a tissue which is not easily repaired after damage. So, how certain molecular cues can stimulate nerve cells to migrate is an important brick in the puzzle. This will enable us to understand how nerve tissue can be regenerated after, for example, a stroke or an accident. If we can use such knowledge to mimic the signals, we may be able to stimulate nerve cells to migrate into a damaged area," says Roger Pocock.

Worms are a fantastic model to study how the nervous system develops and how nerve cells form neuronal circuits. Most of the genes that control nervous system development in the worm are also found in humans. At the same time, the reduced complexity of the worm nervous system allows researchers to investigate central biological mechanisms. With new technologies they can mark single cells or molecules, and as worms are transparent, the researchers can track the marked molecules or cells live during worm development.

The next step for the researchers is to investigate how the regulatory pathway they have revealed is regulated in cultures of human cells.

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