Idris said a brand of orange juice contained 40.8 teaspoons of sugar in a two-litre pack, while a brand of cordial syrup had 200 teaspoons in a two-litre bottle.

As a result, Idris said the International Diabetes Institute recorded Malaysia as having the fourth highest number of diabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007, which is expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.

'Sugar is linked to over 60 ailments such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.'

According to the health ministry's statistics, 11.6 million of the 16 million adults nationwide are sick with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, hypertension or cancer.

'Malaysia has the most overweight and obese people in Asia with 54 percent of the adult population either being obese or overweight,' Idris said.

'CAP calls on the government to work with food manufacturers to avoid sugar in their products,' he added.

'The government should also stop advertisements of highly-sugared drinks and food during children's television viewing hours, and educate school children and the public on the dangers of excessive sugar intake,' Idris said.