Extremely high sugar in many children's snacks

English health office wants to reduce the sugar in children's snacks

Public Health England (PHE) has campaigned for sugar in a large-scale campaign. The goal of the campaign is to reduce the amount of sugar in sweets and food consumed most by children by 20 percent by 2020. Already in the first year, the amount of sugar should fall by 5 percent. According to PHE, children in England consume on average at least three unhealthy, high-calorie and sugary snacks or drinks every day. In about one third of the children, there are even four or more.

The first focus will be on food categories that contribute the most to sugar consumption in children. These foods include yogurt, biscuits, cakes, croissants, rolls, waffles, puddings, ice cream, breakfast cereals, sweets, spreads and sauces. The program targets products designed for very young children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years. The PHE cautions that eating habits in children are a major contributor to obesity and poor health, and calls on parents to go harder on sweets, cakes and fizzy drinks between meals.

English health department is fighting the sugar in children's snacks fight. Public Health England aims to empower children and parents to eat healthier with healthy snacks. (Image: dream79 / fotolia.com)

Not more than 100 calories from sweets

The slogan of the new campaign is "Look for 100 calorie snacks". According to PHE, a children's snack should not exceed 100 calories, and children should consume a maximum of two of these snacks a day. This rule of thumb is intended to make it easier for parents to find suitable snacks for their children. But this is not easy, because an ice cream already contains about 175 calories, a pack of chips about 190 calories, a chocolate bar about 200 calories and a pastry about 270 calories.

Offers for sugar-reduced products

In the government-led campaign under the motto "Change4Life" there should be special offers for healthier food such as fruits and vegetables. Signs in supermarkets indicate the healthier products. Parents can register on the Change4Life website to receive vouchers for snacks that PHE considers healthier. These snacks include, for example, malt bread, sugar-free cream cheese, fruit salads, low-fat hummus, rice cakes, low-fat yoghurt, sugar-free jelly and drinks with no added sugar.

Warnings from multiple pages

The English parenting guide website Mumsnet also warns of the amount of sugar that children absorb with snacks and sugary drinks. The amount is quite overwhelming and it can often be difficult to tell which snacks are healthy and which are not. According to Mumsnet, one third of children in England leave primary school overweight. Recent figures from the English National Child Measurement Program at schools show that the number of overweight children in the year of admission has increased for the second year in a row. According to this, nearly ten percent of the children are already overweight at school. A quarter of English children (24.7 percent) already suffer from tooth decay at the age of five. Tooth removal is the leading cause of hospital admissions in children aged five to nine years. Too much sugar in baby food is not just an English problem. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that the number of obese children and adolescents between the ages of five and 19 has increased tenfold in the world over the last forty years. (Fp)