30,000 Dutch attempt a sugar-free week

"On average, we get 1.5 to twice as much sugar every day from what is good for us, often without being aware of it, adding sugars to the products," says Diabetes Fund general manager Hanneke Dessing.

Half of adults in the Netherlands are overweight and therefore have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In this type, the body no longer reacts to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Insulin is, so to speak, invisible and can not do its job.

More than 1 million people have this form of diabetes and a thousand are added per week, according to the Diabetes Fund.

The participants of the challenge received the corresponding digital magazine. Contains recipes, shopping lists, tips, quizzes and lots of information about sugars in foods.

According to a WHO World Health Organization recommendation, an adult woman can receive 50 grams of free sugars per day, an adult of 60 grams. Free sugars are all sugars added by the manufacturer and all sugars from honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrate.

A cube of sugar equals 4 grams of sugar. An adult woman is therefore allowed to consume 12.5 cubes of sugar free sugar daily according to the WHO recommendation. A man is allowed a little more, that is, 15 cubes of sugar. This is because men have a greater need for energy.

According to the Diabetes Fund, the Dutch are way above that. "We eat about 20 cubes of free sugar a day, that's 30 kilos of free sugars a year."