Cultivating Healthy Eating Habits with Less Than 50g Per Day

Monthly Low-Sugar Practice Program on the 5th ▲Adult Low-Sugar Cooking Class ▲Children and Youth Dietary Habit Education
Seogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, “Providing Detailed Customized Nutrition Services for Every Life Stage”

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) designates the 5th of every month as ‘One Day! Fifty! Practice Day,’ encouraging daily sugar intake to be reduced below 50g, and is implementing life-cycle programs to foster healthy eating habits.

Recently, the term ‘blood sugar spike,’ referring to a rapid rise in blood sugar after meals, has been trending on social media. The World Health Organization recommends that sugar intake should be within 10% of daily caloric intake, approximately 50g for adults (based on 2000 Kcal), but many people consume sugar beyond this guideline. The ‘One Day Fifty’ project was named with this background, planned by Seoul City to reduce sugar intake and prevent various adult diseases such as obesity and diabetes caused by blood sugar spikes.

The district, sympathizing with the purpose of this project, officially launched nutrition management for residents through ‘One Day! Fifty! Practice Day’ starting in March. On the 5th of every month, beneficial education and campaigns to reduce sugar intake for all ages, from children to adults, will be held. ▲ From March to April, adult cooking classes ▲ From May to September, dietary habit improvement education for children and adolescents will continue.

‘One Day! Fifty! Practice Day’ kicked off on March 5 with a ‘Low-Sugar Experience Cooking Class.’ Sixteen adult participants visited the Songpa Community Center to receive a brief theoretical education on sweetness from a dietary expert and learned healthy cooking methods using natural seasonings and natural sugars.

One participant in the cooking class said, “It was a very informative lecture where I could learn about low-sugar diets that I was curious about. I hope opportunities like this happen often, and I definitely want to attend again.”

Meanwhile, starting in May, dietary habit education aimed at developing sugar intake control skills will begin for about 20 children and adolescents at local community child centers. To ensure smooth operation, the district ran a pilot program at one local community child center in December last year.

Children accustomed to tanghulu and processed foods will experience taste tests sampling various items and learn to identify sugar content in processed foods, realizing the importance of healthy eating and personally practicing how to eat less sweetly. The education will continue monthly until September.

Additionally, the district operates a sodium intake reduction program, which can be harmful to health. This includes taste education programs for toddlers at 10 daycare centers, low-sodium experience cooking classes, and support for regular sodium level measurement through lending salinometers, promoting healthy meals with less salt.

For more details on participation methods for each program, please check the district website, district newsletter, or contact the district health center.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “We provide detailed, customized nutrition services for all age groups from children to seniors, so we hope many will participate and benefit in leading a healthy life. We will continue to develop diverse projects that residents, as sovereign citizens, can feel directly, and take even more meticulous care of the health of all residents.”