Most kids’ packed lunches contain TWICE as much sugar as they should – with a whopping 13 teaspoons in some
An alarming 55 per cent of parents thought their kids were consuming the right amount of salt and sugar, when this research clearly points towards the opposite
IF you thought the packed lunch you send your kids to school with was healthy, you’re going to want to keep reading.
Millions of British children are tucking into lunchboxes containing more than double their daily sugar intake, a study has found.
Experts have analysed six average lunches to break down their sugar content, fat content, and calorie content.
The lunchboxes contain typical ingredients eaten by more than half of kids up and down the country every day.
Shockingly, four of them contain at least 47 grams, or 9 teaspoons, of sugar – more than double the four teaspoons recommended for 4-6 years olds each day and almost twice the five teaspoons recommended for 7-10 year olds.
Four of them also contain between 1.51g and 2.09g of salt - more than half of the maximum 3g a 4-6-year-old should be consuming.
MOST READ IN HEALTH
LUNCHBOX ONE
Here's what is contains:
- Sliced ham sandwich on multiseed bread
- Petits Filous 100g pot or similar
- Go Ahead snack bar or similar
- Dry roasted peanuts 25g serving or similar
- Yazoo 200ml strawberry milkshake or similar
Sugar: 49.7g Salt: 2.09g Fat: 26.4g
LUNCHBOX TWO
Here is what is contains:
- Sliced chicken on 50/50 bread
- Chocolate mousse 60g
- Natural fruit and nut bar
- Pack of Hula-Hoops or similar
- Can of Diet Coke 330ml or similar
Sugar: 26.1g Salt: 1.89g Fat: 14.8g
But research has found 39 per cent of parents have no idea how much salt and sugar their children should be having in a single day, so admit they struggle to keep to the limit.
A spokesman for , the creators of healthy snack range Little Beasts, which commissioned the research, said: "Even though parents often have their children's best interests at heart, many kids are eating much more salt and sugar than they should be.
"And many of the so-called 'lower fat' or 'non-sugar' snacks make up the shortfall in other ways, with a low-fat content usually replaced by a higher amount of sugar, and sugar-free items often containing more fat.
"Our study found that there is a real danger of British children growing up less healthy than they should be, due to the packed lunches they take to school."
LUNCHBOX THREE
Here's what is contains:
- Brown pitta with sliced ham
- Chocolate mousse 60g
- Natural fruit and nut bar
- Packet of prawn cocktail crisps or similar
- Water 500ml
Sugar: 26.2g Salt: 1.51g Fat: 16.1g
LUNCHBOX FOUR
Here's what it contains:
- White pitta with sliced chicken
- Strawberry Fruit Corner or similar
- 1 banana (100g)
- Packet of Hula Hoops or similar
- Innocent kids smoothie 180ml or similar
Sugar: 63.8g Salt: 1.49g Fat: 13.1g
LUNCHBOX FIVE
Here's what it contains:
- Sliced ham on white bread
- Full fat Babybel cheese or similar
- 1 red apple
- Frubes 80g serving or similar
- Yazoo milkshake 200ml or similar
Sugar: 47.1g Salt: 1.89g Fat: 11.9g
The study of 2,000 parents found that 46 per cent make packed lunches so they can keep a closer eye on what their kids are eating.
Four in 10 of these parents also did so because it was cheaper.
But one in five parents admitted that, in general, they're clueless when it comes to how healthy the food they put in their child's lunchbox is.
LUNCHBOX SIX
Here's what it contains:
- Chicken spread on 50/50 bread
- Coco Pops snack bar or similar
- 100g black grapes
- Petits Filous 100g pot or similar
- Fresh apple juice 150ml
Sugar: 54.8g Salt: 1.35g Fat: 13.6g
And that figure jumped up to 3 in 10 when they were asked about how much salt and sugar their kids are eating in their packed lunches.
An alarming 55 per cent of parents thought their kids were consuming the right amount of salt and sugar, when this research clearly points towards the opposite.
Sixty per cent think their children are eating about the right amount of calories, although nearly a third admit their child probably eats more sugar than they should.
HOW MUCH SUGAR IS IN POPULAR SNACKS AND DRINKS?
Can of Coca-Cola (330ml) - 35 grams of sugar, the equivalent of seven teaspoons
Cadbury's Dairy Milk (45g bar) - 25g of sugar, the equivalent of five teaspoons
Two McVitie's Digestive Biscuits (31g) - 5g of sugar, or one teaspoon
Muller Light yoghurt (175g) - 12.4g of sugar, or just over two teaspoons
McDonald's Strawberry Milkshake - 62g of sugar, or 12 teaspoons
Galaxy Minstrels (42g bag) - 28.9 of sugar, or six teaspoons
Cadbury Twirl (two finger bar) - 24g of sugar, or five teaspoons
Kit Kat Chunky - 23.7g of sugar, or five teaspoons
Fruit Pastilles (seven sweets) - 15g of sugar, or three teaspoons
Last month research found kids in the UK were eating 20 chocolate chip biscuits worth of sugar every day.
Around one in ten British kids are obese by the time 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 and eating too much sugar increases the changes of type 2 diabetes, heart, liver disease and several cancers.
Studies have also linked excessive consumption of sugary treats to Alzheimer's disease later in life.
A spokeswoman for Yazoo milk drinks, contained in one of the packed lunches, said: "It can be really difficult for mums and dads to find snacks and drinks that kids will enjoy but also taste good.
"That’s why we have launched our new range of no added sugar milk drinks which contain the same amount of sugar as a glass of plain semi-skimmed milk.
"They also taste great, have no artificial sweeteners and provide children with essential nutrients like calcium, protein and vitamin B2."
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