The Ministry of Public Health has launched a campaign to encourage Thais to consume less sugar in order to avoid health problems.
According to Tianchai Suwanpen, an assistant to the deputy public health minister, the ministry began the campaign to encourage individuals to eat no more than 25 grams of sugar per day, or six teaspoons. In addition to marketing and awareness activities, the ministry will encourage beverage manufacturers to lower the amount of sugar in their sweet beverages per serving size from 6% to 5%.
The campaign was established in reaction to recent data suggesting that Thai individuals, particularly those of working age, drank an average of 25 tablespoons per day between 2017 and 2019. Another data from the Department of Health (DOH) found that over 10% of Thai youngsters are clinically obese. The paper warns that if individuals do not enhance nutritional understanding and minimize sugar intake among young people, the situation will deteriorate.
The Global Obesity Federation predicts that childhood obesity rates will more than double between 2020 and 2035.
