Most major health organizations recommend no more than 25 to 36 grams of added sugar per day for adults, depending on sex. That’s far less than most people actually consume, and the number shifts depending on which guidelines you follow, your age, and your total calorie intake.
The Main Guidelines at a Glance
The American Heart Association sets the most widely cited limits: no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) per day for men and 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day for women. In calorie terms, that’s 150 calories from added sugar for men and 100 for women.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2025-2030) recently tightened their recommendation below the previous ceiling of 10% of daily calories. In practical terms, the updated guidance suggests no single meal should contain more than 10 grams of added sugars. Under the older 10% rule, a person eating 2,000 calories a day had a budget of about 50 grams. The new per-meal framing pushes the effective daily total lower.
The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugars (a slightly broader category that includes fruit juice concentrates) below 10% of total energy intake, with a conditional recommendation to aim for under 5%, which works out to roughly 25 grams per day. That lower target aligns closely with the AHA’s recommendation for women and children.
Limits for Children
Children under 2 should have no added sugar at all. For kids aged 2 and older, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends less than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) per day, the same ceiling the AHA sets for adult women. The most recent Dietary Guidelines go further, recommending that children younger than 11 avoid added sugar entirely.
These stricter limits for kids reflect the fact that children eat fewer total calories, so even small amounts of added sugar take up a larger share of their diet. Early sugar habits also tend to persist into adulthood.
What Counts as Added Sugar
Added sugars are any sugars introduced during food processing or preparation. That includes table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, agave, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. It does not include the sugars naturally present in whole fruits, plain milk, or vegetables.
This distinction matters when you’re reading nutrition labels. A plain apple has about 19 grams of sugar, but none of it is “added.” A flavored yogurt, on the other hand, might list 12 to 15 grams of added sugars on top of the naturally occurring lactose. Since 2020, the FDA has required manufacturers to list added sugars as a separate line on the Nutrition Facts panel, making it much easier to track.
How Quickly the Grams Add Up
A single 12-ounce can of regular cola contains about 39 grams of added sugar. That one drink alone exceeds the daily limit for women and children, and it nearly hits the cap for men. A flavored coffee drink from a chain can range from 25 to 50 grams. Even foods that don’t taste particularly sweet can be surprisingly high: a granola bar often has 8 to 12 grams, a tablespoon of ketchup has about 4 grams, and many pasta sauces contain 6 to 10 grams per half-cup serving.
Snacks labeled as healthy deserve extra scrutiny. The FDA’s threshold for a “Healthy” claim on dairy snacks like yogurt caps added sugar at just 2.5 grams per serving. Most flavored yogurts on the shelf exceed that by a wide margin. If you’re trying to stay under 25 or 36 grams for the whole day, checking the added sugars line on every packaged food you eat is the only reliable way to keep a running count.
Why These Limits Exist
The gram caps aren’t arbitrary. They’re set based on the point at which added sugar starts driving measurable health damage. High sugar intake overloads the liver, where dietary carbohydrates are converted to fat. Over time, that extra fat accumulation can lead to fatty liver disease, which in turn raises the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Excess added sugar also raises blood pressure and increases chronic inflammation, both of which are direct pathways to cardiovascular problems. Sugary beverages in particular contribute to weight gain by interfering with your body’s appetite-control signals, so you take in more calories without feeling proportionally full. The combined effects of higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease all link back to a greater risk of heart attack and stroke.
These aren’t risks that appear only at extreme intake levels. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that people who got 17 to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who kept added sugar below 8% of calories. The dose-response curve is fairly linear: more sugar, more risk, with no clear safe threshold above zero.
Practical Ways to Stay Within Range
The simplest strategy is eliminating or cutting back on sweetened drinks. For many people, beverages account for nearly half of their daily added sugar. Swapping soda, sweet tea, or flavored coffee for water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee can cut 30 to 50 grams in a single change.
Beyond beverages, focus on the packaged foods you eat most often. Breakfast tends to be a sugar trap: flavored oatmeal packets, cereals, and yogurts can each contribute 10 to 15 grams before you leave the house. Choosing plain versions and adding your own fresh fruit gives you sweetness without the added sugar count. Condiments, sauces, and salad dressings are the other common blind spots. A quick label check before buying a new brand takes seconds and can save you 5 to 10 grams per serving.
Cooking more meals from whole ingredients naturally lowers your added sugar intake, since most added sugar enters the diet through processed and packaged foods. You don’t need to hit zero. The goal is to stay consistently below 25 to 36 grams per day, which leaves room for the occasional treat without pushing into the range where health risks climb.