Children: sugary foods

Written by David Fletcher 19 Aug 2021
Children: sugary foods

Researchers have found only one in twenty yoghurts aimed at children are low in sugar. They urge the government to impose restrictions on child-friendly packaging and the nutritional claims they make. Action on Sugar found that one toffee yoghurt had five and a half teaspoons of sugar per serving - equal to 16 malted milk biscuits. Out of 100 children's yoghurts, 63% contained a third or more of the maximum daily sugar intake for children between four and six. A ‘health halo’ was being created around products featuring claims they are healthy while containing added sugar, syrups and fruit concentrates. A nutritionist warned that parents can easily be misled when choosing supermarket tems: ‘Often companies try to avert our eyes from seeing the significant amount of sugar listed in the ingredients and nutrition tables, by using healthy-sounding claims and cartoony images on the front of the pack.’

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