London: Public Health England, a unit of the British government, has called on parents to take a tougher line on sweets and cakes and fizzy drinks between meals, the Guardian reported. Children in England are eating on average at least three unhealthy high-calorie sugary snacks and drinks every day, the PHE said. About a third of children eat four or more. The PHE urged parents to draw the line at two and make sure they are not more than 100 calories each, the Guardian reported.
The diet of the average child can contain three times more sugar than recommended, the PHE said. Half the equivalent of seven sugar cubes a day they consume comes from unhealthy snacks and drinks. Each year that includes almost 400 biscuits, more than 120 cakes, 100 sweets, 70 chocolate bars and 70 ice creams, washed down with more than 150 juice drink pouches and cans of fizzy drink.
The slogan of a new campaign under the Change4Life banner is: “Look for 100 calorie snacks, two a day max”. That could lead to a significant change in diet. An ice-cream contains about 175 calories, a pack of crisps contains about 190 calories, a chocolate bar contains about 200 calories and a pastry contains about 270 calories, the PHE said.
There will be a drive to encourage healthier snacking, with signposting at supermarkets and special offers on fruit and vegetables. Parents can sign up on the Change-4Life website to get vouchers for money off snacks PHE identifies as healthier, such as malt loaf, lower sugar fromage frais, and drinks with no added sugar.
Other snack foods PHE said are healthier include fresh or tinned fruit salad, chopped vegetables and lower fat hummus, plain rice cakes, crackers, lower fat cheese, small low-fat, lower sugar yoghurt, sugar free jelly, crumpets and Scotch pancakes. Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “The true extent of children’s snacking habits is greater than the odd biscuit or chocolate bar. Children are having unhealthy snacks throu-ghout the day and parents have told us they’re concerned.” “To make it easier, we’ve developed a simple rule of thumb to help them move towards healthier snacking – look for 100 calorie snacks, two a day max.”
