Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, and the clocks fall back that night too. For a lot of households, that means a long weekend with a lot of candy in it. A little planning can keep the fun in the night without turning November into a sugar marathon.
What the guidance says
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans take a strict line on added sugars. According to the CDC, the guidelines recommend that children younger than 11 have no added sugar at all, and that teens and adults have no more than 10 grams of added sugars per meal.
For context, the CDC says that in 2017–2018, both children and adults in the US averaged about 17 teaspoons of added sugars a day, with sugary drinks, desserts and sweet snacks as the top sources. Diets high in added sugars are linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Halloween is one night, and nobody is expected to treat it like a regular Tuesday. But knowing the baseline helps explain why it makes sense to keep the candy to the holiday rather than letting it stretch on for weeks.
A realistic game plan
- Eat a real meal first. The FDA suggests giving kids a light meal before trick-or-treating so they aren’t snacking from their bags while hungry. It works for grown-ups, too.
- Wait until you get home. The FDA advises that kids hold off on eating candy until it has been checked at home.
- Pick favorites. Let everyone choose a set number of pieces they really love for the night, and save or share the rest.
- Put the stash out of sight. A candy bowl on the counter invites grazing. A cupboard does not.
- Have a plan for leftovers. Decide ahead of time whether extra candy goes to work, to a neighbor or into the freezer for later.
- Buy late and buy less. If you’re handing out treats, buying close to the day means fewer bags tempting you all month.
Don’t skip the food-safety check
The FDA’s Halloween tips are a good reminder that safety comes before sugar:
- Only eat treats that are commercially wrapped, and throw away anything with tears, pinholes or an unusual look.
- Check labels for allergens, and don’t let children with food allergies eat homemade baked goods.
- For very young children, remove choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies and small toys.
- At parties, serve only pasteurized cider and juice, and don’t leave perishable food out for more than two hours, or one hour if it’s above 90°F.
The bigger goal is a fun night that ends with the candy back in the cupboard, not a new daily habit.
This article is for general information, not medical advice.
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