From health.com
AT A GLANCE
- Why this matters: Some flavoured yogurts contain more added sugar than desserts, potentially increasing the risk of weight gain, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes when eaten regularly.
- What you can do: Choose unsweetened yogurt and add fruit—or a carefully measured amount of sweetener—for flavour.
- The payoff: Limiting added sugar while retaining yogurt’s protein, calcium, and other nutrients can support long-term metabolic and heart health.
Yogurt can be an easy way to add protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients to your breakfast or snack. But depending on which one you choose, you may also get more added sugar than you realize—sometimes as much as you’d find in a dessert or candy.
So, how can you tell whether your yogurt is too sugary? Here’s how much sugar is in some popular yogurt products, how much is too much, and what to look for on the label.
Sugar Content of Popular Yogurt Products
Here is the sugar content of some popular yogurt products:
- Chobani® Flip® Chocolate Covered Strawberry: 16 grams of added sugar per 4.5-ounce serving (4 teaspoons)
- Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk Probiotic Yogurt, Strawberry: 11 grams of added sugar per 6-ounce serving (2.75 teaspoons)
- Yoplait Strawberry Cheesecake: 13 grams of added sugar per 6-ounce serving (3.25 teaspoons)
- Yoplait Key Lime Pie Whips! Single Serve: 18 grams of added sugar per 4-ounce serving (4.5 teaspoons)
- Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Blueberry: 11 grams of added sugar per 5.3-ounce serving (2.75 teaspoons)
- La Fermière Creamy French Yogurt, Raspberry Blueberry: 15 grams of added sugar per 4.9-ounce serving (3.75 teaspoons)
- Noosa Mix-Ins S’mores: 20 grams of added sugar per 5.8-ounce serving (5 teaspoons)
As you can see, some popular yogurt products are surprisingly high in sugar. In fact, some contain more sugar than desserts like ice cream and cookies.
For example, a ⅔-cup serving of Turkey Hill Original Vanilla Ice Cream contains 10 grams of added sugar, less than most of the yogurts listed above.
The Problem With Sweetened Yogurt
Sugar is used in yogurt to enhance sweetness and make yogurt taste better. While this makes yogurt more palatable, it can also significantly affect its health benefits.
In small amounts, added sugar usually isn’t harmful. However, when consumed in excess, as is common in modern-day American diets, it can lead to several health issues. For example, high intake of added sugar may increase your risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes and can negatively impact brain and metabolic health.
Some foods, like candy and cookies, are more obvious sources of added sugar. However, “healthier” products, like yogurt, can be deceptively high in sugar. Since yogurt is associated with being nutritious, people often aren’t aware that a serving of yogurt can contain as much sugar as their favourite sweet.
Studies also show that people tend to feel less full and hungrier when eating sugar-sweetened yogurt than yogurt sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners like monk fruit, which can lead to excessive calorie intake.
How Much Sugar Is Too Much?
To keep your added sugar intake in check, the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 6% of your daily calories, which equates to about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons for men. This means that just one flavoured yogurt a day could use up a significant portion of that limit, especially for women.
Most Americans consume significantly more added sugar than recommended, with sweetened drinks and foods, including flavoured yogurt, being major contributors.
Consistently consuming too much added sugar harms health and has been linked to an increased risk of weight gain, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, and depression.
How to Keep Your Sugar Intake in Check
To keep your added sugar intake in check while still enjoying yogurt, choose unsweetened varieties when possible. You can add natural sweetness from ingredients like berries or dried fruit, or add a small amount of sweetener like honey. However, when you add your own sweetener, be mindful of portion size.
A 2016 study found that when people added sugar, honey, or jam to plain yogurt, they ended up adding an average of 13.6 grams of sugar, more than the 10.2 grams found in pre-sweetened commercial yogurt. The amount of sugar added varied by sweetener, with people adding the most when using jam.
So, if you’re using your own sweetener, keep in mind that you may be adding even more sugar than what’s found in sweetened yogurts.
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