Most adults should aim for no more than 25 to 36 grams of added sugar per day, depending on sex, though the exact number varies by which guideline you follow. That’s far less than what most people actually consume. The average American adult takes in about 17 teaspoons (roughly 68 grams) of added sugar daily, nearly double the strictest recommendations.
The Three Main Guidelines
Three major health organizations have set limits for added sugar, and they don’t all agree. The differences come down to how aggressive each organization thinks you need to be.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2020-2025) set the broadest target: keep added sugars below 10% of your total daily calories. On a standard 2,000-calorie diet, that works out to 50 grams, or about 12 teaspoons. This is the baseline recommendation for everyone age 2 and older.
The American Heart Association is stricter and splits its recommendation by sex. Women should stay under 24 grams (6 teaspoons), and men under 36 grams (9 teaspoons). These lower numbers reflect the AHA’s focus on cardiovascular risk, where sugar’s effects on blood fat levels and inflammation make tighter limits worthwhile.
The World Health Organization aligns with the 10% threshold as a strong recommendation but goes further, suggesting that cutting below 5% of total calories (about 25 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet) offers additional health benefits.
Limits for Children and Toddlers
Children ages 2 through 18 should have less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day. That’s the same as the AHA’s limit for adult women, which makes sense given that children eat fewer total calories.
For children under 2, the guidance is absolute: no added sugars at all. Both the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend avoiding foods and drinks with added sugars entirely for infants and toddlers. This period is critical for establishing taste preferences, and early exposure to sweetened foods can shape eating patterns for years.
Despite these recommendations, CDC data from 2017-2018 shows that American children consume an average of 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day. Among teenagers, intake climbs to around 20 teaspoons, more than three times the recommended limit.
How Much Americans Actually Eat
The gap between guidelines and reality is striking. Adult men average 19 teaspoons per day (about 76 grams), while women average 15 teaspoons (about 60 grams). Even at the lower end, that’s still well above every major guideline.
Boys consume more than girls at every age, averaging 18 teaspoons compared to 15. Intake tends to rise through childhood, peaking during the teenage years. By ages 12 to 19, some groups average 20 teaspoons daily.
How to Read the Numbers on a Label
One teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams. That’s the conversion that makes nutrition labels useful. When a yogurt lists 12 grams of added sugar, you’re looking at 3 teaspoons. A can of soda with 39 grams of added sugar contains nearly 10 teaspoons.
Since 2020, the FDA has required a separate “Added Sugars” line on the Nutrition Facts panel, which makes it much easier to track your intake. Added sugars include any sweetener introduced during processing: table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, agave, and sugars from concentrated fruit juices. They do not include the sugars naturally present in whole fruit, plain milk, or vegetables. A plain apple has sugar, but it’s not “added.” Apple juice concentrate used to sweeten a granola bar is.
Ingredient lists can obscure how much sweetener a product contains by using multiple names. If you see dextrose, maltose, sucrose, cane juice, corn syrup, or any syrup-based ingredient, those all count as added sugars.
What Excess Sugar Does to Your Body
The reason every major health organization sets a limit is that excess added sugar drives several chronic disease processes simultaneously. The most direct effect involves your liver. When you consume more sugar than your body needs for energy, particularly fructose, your liver converts the excess into fat. This happens through a process where fructose ramps up your liver’s fat-building machinery while simultaneously slowing down its ability to burn fat for fuel. Over time, this leads to fat buildup in the liver itself, a condition that now affects roughly 1 in 4 adults worldwide.
That liver fat doesn’t stay contained. It spills into the bloodstream as triglycerides, raising cardiovascular risk. High added-sugar intake is also linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, tooth decay, and chronic inflammation. These aren’t effects that require extreme consumption. They develop gradually at the intake levels many people consider normal.
Quick Reference by Group
- Adult men: no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) per the AHA, or 50 grams (12 teaspoons) per the Dietary Guidelines
- Adult women: no more than 24 grams (6 teaspoons) per the AHA, or 50 grams (12 teaspoons) per the Dietary Guidelines
- Children ages 2-18: no more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons)
- Children under 2: zero added sugars
If you’re choosing between the more lenient Dietary Guidelines target and the AHA’s stricter numbers, the AHA limits are the safer bet. The WHO’s conditional recommendation to stay below 25 grams aligns closely with the AHA’s guidance for women and children, suggesting that lower is genuinely better rather than just more cautious.