Are yoghurts REALLY good for you? Many contain sugar levels ‘way above recommended level’
High sugar contents in ninety per cent of popular yoghurts are contributing to Britain's obesity crisis, experts have warned
ALMOST all yoghurts sold by supermarkets contain “well above” a healthy amount of sugar, a damning study reveals.
Nine out of ten fail to qualify for a green traffic light nutrition label because they are crammed with more than 5g of sugar per 100g.
Researchers from the University of Leeds examined 921 of the most popular yoghurts and warn they are an “unrecognised source” of sugar.
They claim they are contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic and urged shoppers to study the nutrition labels before buying them.
Those marketed as “deserts” are the worst offenders, with an average of 16.4g of sugar per 100g – more than four teaspoons.
Organic yoghurts fare second worst, with 13.1g of sugar per 100g, and natural or Greek yoghurts are best with 5g of sugar per 100g.
Greek and natural yoghurts also contained higher levels of protein and the sugar is more likely to be naturally occurring than added.
Health chiefs say kids aged four to six should have no more than 19g of sugar a day – meaning just one pot could take them over the limit.
Only two of the 101 children’s yoghurts and fromage frais surveyed could be classified as low sugar, with most having 10.8g per 100g.
Sugar is often used as a sweetener to counteract the sourness of the lactic acid, which is produced by live cultures in yoghurts.
These live cultures are what make a yoghurt “good for your gut” and tend to be found in higher amounts in organic yoghurts.
Study leader Dr Bernadette Moore said: “While there is good evidence that yoghurt can be beneficial to health, products on the market vary widely in nutrient content.
“Items labelled organic are often thought of as the ‘healthiest’ option but they may be an unrecognised source of added sugars in many people’s diet.”
Dr Barbara Fielding, who worked on the study at the University of Surrey, said: “Diets high in added sugars are now unequivocally linked to obesity and dental problems.
“In the UK, on average, children eat more yoghurt than adults, with children under three years old eating the most.”
Public Health England has challenged food manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in many products, such as yoghurts, by a fifth by 2020.
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Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: “The food industry has a key role to play in reducing the amount of sugar we buy and consume.
“We have seen positive steps. Yoghurt and fromage frais was the only category to exceed the first year sugar reduction ambition of 5%.
“We hope to see further progress when we publish our next report in 2019.”
The findings are published in the journal BMJ Open.