Hot Drinks Sugar Warning
Experts in Liverpool are warning that hot drinks on the high street can contain as much as some fizzy drinks.
If you've grabbed a latte to go on your way to work this morning, you could already be over your daily sugar allowance. Experts in Liverpool are warning that hot drinks on the high street can contain as much as some fizzy drinks.
Research by 'Action on Sugar' found that 98% of the 131 flavoured drinks they tested from high street chains contained an excessive amount of sugar. 35% had the same amount as a can of Coca-Cola, which is around 9 teaspoons of sugar.
They found that the worst hot drink on offer is an extra-large Hot Mulled Fruit drink from Starbucks which contained 25 teaspoons of sugar per cup. That makes it 99% sugar and three times over the daily allowance for an adult.
Professor Simon Capewell is from the University of Liverpool and the Vice President of the UK Faculty of public Health.
He told us it's adding to rising obesity levels saying;
''The recommended level now is 5 teaspoons a day and we're seeing latte's now containing as much of that o more in just one hot, steaming cup. It's shocking''
''This is a wake up call, indeed you could say we need to wake up and smell the coffee. There is alotof sugar hidden in hot drinks, we're eating two to three times more sugar than health experts would recommend.''
Some of the UK 's biggest coffee chains say they're taking steps to reduce the sugar content in their range of drinks.