How Much Sugar per Day for Women: The WHO, AHA and US Guidelines Compared
Quick answer: The American Heart Association says women should have no more than 25 g of added sugar a day — 6 teaspoons, or 100 calories. The World Health Organization sets the same limit for everyone: free sugars under 10% of daily calories (50 g on 2,000 kcal), with under 5% — roughly 25 g — bringing additional benefit. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans give no daily allowance at all: no amount of added sugar is recommended, and one meal should contain no more than 10 g. Sugar inside whole fruit and plain milk counts toward none of these limits.
The recommendations side by side
Only one of the three bodies gives women their own number. The WHO and the US guidelines apply the same advice to women and men; the AHA splits it by sex.
| Organisation | What it limits | Limit for a woman | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO (strong recommendation) | Free sugars | Under 10% of daily energy: 50 g, about 12 level teaspoons, at 2,000 kcal | WHO healthy diet fact sheet |
| WHO (conditional recommendation) | Free sugars | Below 5% of daily energy: roughly 25 g, 6 teaspoons | WHO sugars guideline, 2015 |
| American Heart Association | Added sugars | No more than 25 g, 6 teaspoons, 100 calories a day (men: 36 g, 9 teaspoons) | AHA: How much sugar is too much? |
| Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030 | Added sugars | No daily amount recommended; no more than 10 g in one meal | DGA 2025–2030 |
| FDA Nutrition Facts label | Added sugars | Daily Value of 50 g, based on 2,000 kcal (a label reference, not a target) | FDA: Added sugars on the label |
Why the WHO and the AHA give different answers
They land on the same 25 g by different routes, and they do not measure the same thing.
- Free vs added sugar. The WHO limits free sugars: sugar added by the manufacturer, the cook or you, plus the sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. The AHA limits added sugars: sugars and caloric sweeteners added during processing or preparation. The practical gap is fruit juice: the WHO counts its sugar even when nothing was added, while the US guidelines treat 100% juice separately — limited portions, or diluted with water — and count juice concentrate as an added sugar when it sweetens another food.
- A percentage vs a fixed number. The WHO limit is a share of energy, so it moves with how much you eat. The AHA gives fixed grams by sex, and also frames its advice as keeping added sugars below 6% of calories.
- Two strengths of advice. The WHO's 10% is a strong recommendation. Its 5% is conditional: the WHO says a further reduction "would provide additional health benefits".
If you eat less or more than 2,000 kcal, the WHO numbers shift. At 4 kcal per gram (the AHA's 25 g = 100 calories):
| Daily calories | WHO under 10% | WHO under 5% | AHA, women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 kcal | 40 g | 20 g | 25 g |
| 1,800 kcal | 45 g | about 23 g | 25 g |
| 2,000 kcal | 50 g | 25 g | 25 g |
| 2,200 kcal | 55 g | about 28 g | 25 g |
What counts and what doesn't
All three bodies agree on the core: sugar that someone added counts, and sugar that comes inside whole fruit and plain milk does not. The WHO guideline "does not refer to the sugars in fresh fruits and vegetables, and sugars naturally present in milk". The US guidelines say the same in their own words: fruits and plain milk have naturally occurring sugars, and these are not considered added sugars.
| Item | WHO free sugar? | US added sugar? |
|---|---|---|
| Table or brown sugar in coffee, baking, cooking | Yes | Yes |
| Honey, syrups | Yes | Yes — honey and syrups are on the US lists of added-sugar names |
| Fruit juice, including 100% juice | Yes, even without added sugar | Juice concentrate used to sweeten a food counts (FDA). For 100% juice, the DGA asks for limited portions or diluting it with water |
| Whole fruit — fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar | No | No |
| Plain milk, plain yogurt | No | No |
| Flavoured yogurt, chocolate milk | The added part, not the milk sugar | The added part, not the milk sugar |
On a US label, Total Sugars includes both kinds; the line "Includes Xg Added Sugars" is the one that counts toward the AHA and DGA limits. Labels outside the US usually show total sugar only — Hidden sugar: where it comes from covers how to spot it in the ingredient list.
What 25 g looks like
Without weighing anything, these are the official equivalents of the women's limit:
- 6 teaspoons of sugar (WHO and AHA).
- 100 calories (AHA).
- 50% Daily Value of added sugars on a US Nutrition Facts label, since the Daily Value is 50 g.
- Two and a half meals' worth under the DGA cap of 10 g of added sugar per meal.
The label gives you a quick scale. The FDA calls 5% DV or less of added sugars a low source and 20% DV or more a high source — on a 50 g Daily Value that is 2.5 g and 10 g per serving. A single serving at 20% DV already uses up the DGA's per-meal cap and 40% of the AHA's daily limit for women.
The DGA also sets snack limits that follow the FDA "Healthy" claim: no more than 2.5 g of added sugar per ⅔ cup equivalent of a dairy snack such as yogurt, and no more than 5 g per ¾ ounce whole-grain equivalent of a grain snack such as crackers.
How to track it
Every limit above is a daily or per-meal total, so the only way to know where you stand is to add up what you actually ate.
CalMePlease logs sugar alongside calories, protein, carbs, fat, fibre, sodium and water, from a photo, a voice note or a barcode scan. For packaged food, the barcode is the most reliable route: the label already carries the sugar figure. When a day's sugar looks high, check where it came from before cutting anything — fruit and plain dairy count toward none of the limits above, so they are the last place to look.
Two habits make the number useful:
- Log drinks. The DGA asks you to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks, and the WHO counts the sugar in juice as free sugar.
- Watch the week, not the day. One high day is noise. The same high day every weekend is a pattern — the Sugar is the number nobody tracks post shows what four weeks of watching it looks like.
FAQ
How much sugar should a woman have per day? The AHA says no more than 25 g of added sugar (6 teaspoons, 100 calories). The WHO says free sugars under 10% of calories for everyone, with under 5% — roughly 25 g — giving additional benefit. The 2025–2030 US guidelines recommend no amount of added sugar and cap a single meal at 10 g.
Does the sugar in fruit count toward the 25 g? No. Neither the WHO nor the US guidelines count sugar in whole fruit or plain milk. Fruit juice is different: the WHO counts its sugar as free sugar even when nothing was added.
Does honey count as sugar? Yes. The WHO includes sugars naturally present in honey and syrups in free sugars, and honey appears on both the AHA and the DGA lists of added sugars.
Is the limit different for men? Only in the AHA advice: 36 g (9 teaspoons, 150 calories) for men against 25 g for women. The WHO and the US Dietary Guidelines give the same advice to both.
Is 25 g the same as 6 teaspoons? Yes — both the WHO and the AHA put it that way. The WHO's 10% limit, 50 g at 2,000 kcal, is about 12 level teaspoons.
Data: WHO, Healthy diet fact sheet; WHO, Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children (news release, 4 March 2015); American Heart Association, How much sugar is too much? and Sugar 101; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030; FDA, Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label. Values checked October 2026.
Related: Hidden sugar: where it comes from · Why you crash after lunch · How much fiber per day
CalMePlease logs sugar on every meal — from a photo, a voice note or a barcode — and adds it up for the day. Free on the App Store.
