Turkey’s sugar consumption exceeds WHO guidelines by five times, raising public health concerns

An internal medicine specialist warns that Turks are consuming four to five times the amount of sugar recommended by the WHO, increasing risks of chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease.

Turkey’s appetite for sugar is far above global health advice, according to Dr Cemal Ergin, an internal medicine specialist at Medicana Bursa Hospital, who said daily consumption per person is being put at four to five times the level recommended by the World Health Organization. Ergin warned that the issue is not just weight gain, but a wider burden of disease that includes diabetes, fatty liver disease and cardiovascular problems.

The WHO says free sugars should make up less than 10% of daily energy intake, with a further reduction to below 5% offering additional health benefits. For someone eating about 2,000 calories a day, that works out at roughly 25 grams, or six teaspoons, at the lower target. Ergin said reported intake in Turkey has reached 100 to 150 grams per person per day, highlighting a gap between public health guidance and everyday diets.

Ergin said high sugar intake can encourage insulin resistance, which can then contribute to type 2 diabetes. He also pointed to fructose in many packaged foods as a possible factor in fatty liver disease, while excess sugar can raise triglyceride levels and feed inflammatory processes linked to heart disease. He added that swings in blood glucose and the biological process known as glycation, where sugar molecules attach to proteins and fats, are associated with ageing, and that insulin resistance has also been discussed in relation to brain health.

He urged consumers to look beyond obvious sugar, noting that much of the intake comes from packaged snacks, fizzy drinks, flavoured beverages, ready-made sauces and desserts. Johns Hopkins Medicine advises people with prediabetes to cut back on sugary drinks, refined carbohydrates and heavily processed snacks, and to choose whole fruit instead of sweet desserts. Cleveland Clinic says people with diabetes can eat sugar in moderation, but should avoid sweetened drinks and keep a close eye on carbohydrate intake.

Ergin also said people trying to reduce sugar often turn to sweeteners such as stevia-based products and erythritol. That choice, however, is not straightforward: laboratory research has raised questions about erythritol’s effects on cells lining the brain’s blood vessels, although those findings do not prove the same result in humans. For Ergin, the safer long-term answer remains simple habits: drink water or plain mineral water, reduce sugar in tea and coffee gradually, and read labels carefully for ingredients such as glucose syrup, fructose and maltose.