Hard candies dissolve slowly, prolonging sweet exposure to teeth. A WHO umbrella review (Hajishafiee et al., BMC Public Health 2023) confirmed dose-response between free sugars and caries. Per 100 g: 394 kcal, 63 g sugar. Each piece is ~5–8 g.
How should I track Hard candy?
The trickiest part about tracking Hard candy is that small portions pack a lot of calories, and most people estimate sweet portions poorly. Research (Almiron-Roig et al., Appetite 2013) found that calorie-dense foods are underestimated by 50–200% when portioned by eye. Weighing on a scale takes the guesswork out. And here is the mindset shift that helps: tracking sweets is not about guilt. It is about awareness. When you log a treat honestly, you can plan around it and still hit your targets for the day.