Calls for crackdown on ‘hidden sugars’ as its revealed kids eat equivalent to FIVE doughnuts every day
Youngsters are eating more than double the 30g sugar recommendation as parents are unaware of high levels in common foods
KIDS are eating 20 chocolate chip biscuits’ worth of a sugar a day, shocking research reveals.
Experts warn youngsters aged 11 to 18 are consuming 73g daily - the same amount found in five doughnuts.
It is more than double the recommended maximum of 30g of sugar in a day.
The research was compiled by the Dr Modi Mwatsama, from the OHA, which is calling on the food industry to do more to reduce “hidden sugars”.
It warns many parents are not aware of high levels found in common foods.
And youngsters aged 4 to 10-year-old eat 54g of sugar a day – twice as much as the 24g recommendation.
Around one in 10 kids are obese when they start primary school.
But this doubles by the time they reach their final year, with one in five 11-year-olds dangerously tubby.
Being too heavy increases the chances of type 2 diabetes, heart, liver disease and several cancers.
Dr Modi Mwatsama, from the OHA, said manufacturers have successfully cut salt from many foods.
And called for them to do the same with sugar.
She said: “These figures show the bleak reality of how much sugar our children are actually eating.
“With children consuming more than double the amount they should the food and drinks industry must urgently comply with the Government’s reformulation programme and reduce the amount of sugar our children are having.
“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.
“By reducing the amount of sugar found in everyday products, industry could help make a real difference.”
The OHA is made up of 39 medical colleges and health charities, including the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK, and the British Medical Association.
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Sarah Toule, from the 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.”
Food manufacturers have told to cut sugar in their products by 20 per cent by 2020 as part of the national Childhood Obesity Strategy.
Professor Russell Viner, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the findings were “shocking”.
He said: “This vast amount of sugar consumption is storing up so much trouble for generations to come.
“The Government is to be congratulated for taking the initiative on sugar reduction – and industry needs to step up to the challenge.”
