A children’s health expert in the US says families should watch their consumption of sugar during breakfast—and calls it the “alcohol of the child.”

Dr Robert Lustig, a harsh critic of sugar consumption, says between breakfast cereals and juices, many children are eating far too much added sugar every morning. He estimates that some children are getting half their recommended daily intake of sugars at the breakfast table, before much of the day has even begun.  Lustig has called sugar “toxic,” and has written anti-sugar books. The doctor said sugar acts much like alcohol in the body because it’s processed through the liver and has addictive qualities.

“They both end up being turned into liver fat, and we now know that liver fat is the driver of all the chronic metabolic diseases that have befallen western societies,” he told On The Go, listing Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Lustig said families should watch out for added sweeteners that go by other names, as these also have health risks if overconsumed.