Children are eating equivalent of five donuts a day in 'hidden sugars'

Children are eating the equivalent of five donuts a a day as a result of “hidden sugars,” a coalition of obesity experts has warned.

New research from the Obesity Health Alliance shows that the average child is eating as much sugar as if they were consuming 20 chocolate biscuits or five slices of cake each day.

The group of 39 charities, royal colleges and medical experts is calling for urgent changes to “reformulate” foods, to reduce the amount of sugar contained in convenience foods and soft drinks.

Last year the Government childhood obesity strategy pledged to reduce sugar content in foods by 20 per cent by 2020. It comes alongside a sugar tax on drinks, to encourage manufacturers to reduce sugar levels, and to persuade consumers to choose healthier options.

Public health experts last night urged the food industry to act quickly to reduce the sugar content from common foods.

Government advice recommends that sugar should account for no more than 5 per cent of daily calories.

But the research shows the average 11 to 18 year old is consuming 73.2 g of sugar a day - more than twice the recommended 30g daily.

The alliance said children were regularly consuming high amounts of hidden sugars from soup, ready meals, and breakast cereals, without their parents realising how unhealthy such foods were.

Dr Modi Mwatsama, from the Obesity Health Alliance said: “Most parents would never hand over 20 chocolate biscuits a day to their children, but with so much hidden sugar in our food and drink it can often be hard to know just how much children are consuming.”

“That is why we are calling the food and drink industry to urgently comply with the Government’s reformulation programme.”

The alliance includes the Royal College of Physicians, Cancer Research UK, the National Obesity Forum and Diabetes UK.

The charities said the presence of hidden sugars was contributing to record levels of childhood obesity,  with one in three obese or overweight by the time they leave primary school.

Government recommendations say that adults and children aged 11 and more should have no more than 30g sugar daily.

Parents were often shocked to find that savoury foods - such as tomato soup, baked beans, and ready meals  - contained high levels of sugar, along with the breakfast cereals that their children consumed daily.

One can of Sainsbury’s Cream of Tomato Soup contains almost 24g of sugar, with more than 20g sugar in one can of Heinz Baked Beans, their research found, while many ready meals contained almost 40g of sugar each.

Sarah Toule, head of health information at World Cancer Research Fund, said: “It can often be hard to know exactly how much sugar children are having as it is hidden in so much of their food and drink.

“Overweight or obese children are more likely to be so as adults putting them at risk of 11 common cancers. In fact, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the best thing people can do to reduce their risk of cancer.

“The food and drink industry can play a vital role in helping tackle obesity rates by reducing the sugar content in their products and making the healthy choice the easy choice”.

The figures, calculated from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show that on average all age groups are consuming more free sugars than the Government’s recommendations, which amount to seven sugar cubes a day - or 30grams of free sugars.  

The highest intake is in 11 to 18 year olds (73.2g/day), followed by 19 to 64 year olds (59.9g/day) and then 4 to 10 year olds (53.5g/day). Free sugars are any sugars added to food or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices.