The United States has accused the United Nations food and health bodies of failing to get their science right in a report that calls for limiting sugar intake for health reasons.

The 150 page report, launched jointly by the U.N. World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) this week, was compiled by a team of 75 independent experts as part of a strategy to improve health by encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables, limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of the energy in a diet, and exercise moderately.

However, following the release of the report, the U.S. ambassador to the food and agriculture agencies, Tony Hall, handed out a statement which read: "I believe that the WHO/FAO report falls short of presenting the comprehensive body of evidence and rigorous conclusions necessary to serve as a basis for WHO and FAO policy recommendations," it said.

"Unfortunately, this report has never even been an item for discussion among the member countries," he added in a statement. "The concerns expressed by many of my colleagues from the developing world serve to remind us of the importance of getting the science right."

U.N. officials have stood by the research: "The report contains the best currently available scientific evidence on the relationship of diet, nutrition and physical activity to chronic diseases," said WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland.

She told diplomats at the Rome headquarters of the FAO that the burden of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and obesity, is rapidly increasing worldwide. In 2001, they contributed almost 60 percent of the 56.5 million total reported deaths in the world and 46 percent of the global burden of disease, according to the Geneva-based WHO.

The report concludes that a diet low in saturated fats, sugars and salt, and high in vegetables and fruits, together with regular physical activity, will have a major impact on combating this high toll of death and disease.

"Simple messages are required -- less high-calorie foods, more fruits, vegetables and legumes, more foods of plant and marine origin -- plus people need to be physically active," FAO director-general Jacques Diouf told the assembly.

The report originally published last week has triggered a sharp reaction from the powerful U.S. Sugar Association and other food industry groups which contest limits on the amount of sugar to be added to soft drinks, sauces, biscuits and burgers, as recommended by the report.

The Sugar Association labelled the WHO report misguided and dubious, and claimed it had ignored recent scientific findings that sugar was not a causative factor in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hyperactivity and dental caries.

Pressure on the WHO to prevent the report being published has been heavier even than anything seen from the tobacco industry in the past, according to press reports, including a threat to withdraw the United States $406 million dollars contribution to the WHO.

The Sugar Association argues the report misleads the public to believe there is a health risk in consuming more than 10 percent of an individual's daily energy intake from added sugars, and points to a National Academy of Sciences study that gives more liberal guidelines for sugar intake.

However Diouf said the report's recommendation on sugar consumption had been taken out of context: "I believe the experts (authors) themselves would agree that this recommendation is not meant to be a precise quantitative limit derived from scientific experiments, but the best compromise based on current knowledge," he said.

"The recommendation to limit the intake of free sugars is meant to be a desirable population nutrition goal, not a standard to be regulated."

He said the report would be submitted to the governing bodies of FAO for further discussion and comment.

Brundtland told Reuters: "I don't think there is good reason for the criticism. There are 25 countries that have issued dietary guidelines using the 10 percent figure."

Nutritional scientist Dr Katrine Baghurst, of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, told ABC Science Online that setting guidelines for sugar was a "balancing act" that takes into consideration scientific studies and cultural information on what sorts of food people commonly eat. Current draft Australian dietry guidelines advise people to eat only moderate amounts of sugar.

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