Published:
April 18, 2025
Weekly menu limits for added sugars: Evaluating a current menu
How do you evaluate a current menu to see if it meets the weekly added sugar limits? Let's walk through the process.
This example is based on the ISBE “SNP Meal Pattern Overview and Updates” training from 1/21/25.
1. First, we find the average calories over the week.
To do this, we add up the calories from each day’s menu, then divide by 5 days.
400 + 475 + 375 + 490 + 520 = 2,260
2,260/5 = 452 calories
2. Next, we need to find the number of calories from added sugars we can have. Remember, added sugars will be limited to 10% of calories over the week. Let's multiply 452 by 0.10.
452 x 0.10 = 45.2 calories from added sugars
3. Okay, now many grams of added sugars can we have on average? We need to convert calories from added sugars to grams of added sugars. Remember, there are 4 calories in 1 gram of sugar/carbohydrate.
45.2 calories from added sugars / 4 calories per gram = 11.3 g added sugars
This means we are limited to an average of 11.3 g of added sugars over the week. Now we need to see if our menu meets this requirement.
4. Add up the grams of added sugars over the week, then divide by 5 days.
10 g + 4 g + 20 g + 8 g + 9 g = 51 g
51/5 = 10.2 g added sugars