Children Are Eating Too Much Sugar, but Halloween Is Not to Blame
Without fail, Halloween brings up concerns over children’s chocolate and candy intake. It’s largely understandable. It is not unusual for children to finish a night of trick-or-treating with several pounds of candy in tow.
As a nutrition professional, though, Halloween is the least of my concerns. It only comes once every 365 days. All the handwringing that surrounds sugar and candy intake come Halloween seems odd in light of how much sugar the average American child eats the other 364 days of the year (according to the American Heart Association, the average 1- to 3-year-old consumes roughly 12 teaspoons of sugar a day, and the average 4- to 8-year-old consumes 21 teaspoons on a daily basis).
Sugar is ubiquitous in most American children’s diets. Consider these eight commonly-consumed foods and beverages, and the sugar punch they pull. As you browse these figures, keep in mind that the American Heart Association recommends 8-year-olds cap their sugar intake at 12 grams a day.
1)Froot Loops Marshmallow cereal:
Grams of sugar per serving: 14
Candy equivalent: 5 Hershey’s kisses
2) Pop-Tarts Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough toaster pastries:
Grams of sugar per serving: 17
Candy equivalent: 6 Original Starburst Fruit Chews
3) Nature Valley Crunchy Maple Brown Sugar granola bar:
Grams of sugar per serving: 12
Candy equivalent: 1.5 Snickers fun-size bars
4) Dunkin’ Donuts Small Strawberry Coolatta:
Grams of sugar per serving: 57
Candy equivalent: ½ cup Skittles