Public Health England (PHE) has launched new Change4Life Campaign to promote healthier snacks. It urges parents to ‘look for 100-calorie snacks, two a day max’ to cut children’s sugar intake.
It is estimated that half of children’s sugar intake, currently around 7 sugar cubes a day, comes from unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks, leading to obesity and dental decay.
On average, children are consuming at least 3 unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks a day, with around a third consuming 4 or more.
With a third of children leaving primary school overweight or obese, tackling obesity requires wider action and is not limited to individual efforts from parents. PHE is working with the food industry to cut 20% of sugar from the products children consume most by 2020, with work to reduce calories due to start this year.