The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is affirming the important role sugar can play in improving the quality of a child's diet.
In its newest guidelines, the AAP urges schools and families to take a broader approach to nutrition, considering children's whole diet pattern—rather than the amount of sugar and other specific nutrients in individual foods.
"A positive emphasis on nutritional value, variety, appropriate portion, and encouragement for a steady improvement in quality will be a more effective approach for improving nutrition and health than simply advocating for the elimination of added sugars," AAP's policy position states.
AAP notes that it has been "well established" that sugars can increase the palatability and desirability of foods and cites flavored milk as a good example of the balance needed to limit added sugars and yet promote nutrient-rich foods.
The policy statement also emphasizes that a review of the evidence failed to find a causative connection between sugar consumption and type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease, or behavioral disorders.
Similarly, recent reviews of the relationship between sugar consumption and the nutrient content of the diet found that the association was nonlinear. Even a moderately high intake of added sugars was not necessarily associated with decrements in dietary nutrient intake, AAP states.
"Children, like adults, often want their own preferred flavors and textures during meals and snacks," said Robert Murray, M.D., FAAP, lead author of the policy statement. "It's no secret that brown sugar on oatmeal, or salad dressing with cut vegetables, can make these healthy foods more palatable to children, and increase their consumption. This is not a license to give kids anything they want; we just need to use sugar, fat and sodium strategically."