Published on 1^st June 2017

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Health officials in Liverpool have launched a Save Kids from Sugar campaign (savekidsfromsugar.co.uk) in a bid to inform parents about the amount of sugar in their children’s diet.¹ 

The campaign has named and shamed what they say are the most sugary breakfast cereals – with Kellogg’s being one of the top brands in the firing line. Kellogg’s Frosties, Coco Pops and Crunchy Nut are the top three offenders, each having 3.5 cubes of sugar per 40g serving (one sugar cube = four grams of sugar). This is a huge cause for concern, considering the maximum allowance per day is just five sugar cubes for four to six year olds, six cubes for seven to 10 year olds, and seven cubes for children over 11 years. Healthier options listed on the website included Shredded Wheat, Wheat Shreds, Ready Brek, Porridge Oats and Weetabix.

Of course, there are other good, non-cereal-based breakfast options, too, like sliced banana and peanut butter on toast, homemade banana pancakes, scrambled egg on toast, or Greek yoghurt with blueberries and chopped nuts (providing they’re age-appropriate). ION’s head of clinic, Nicola Moore, also gave us her suggestions: a boiled egg with red pepper soldiers, apple slices with nut butter, or yoghurt with raspberry chia jam and some flaked almonds.

Sugary drinks aren’t off the hook either. Save the Kids from Sugar also shows reveals popular beverages contain the most sugar, with Mountain Dew taking pole position with 16.2 sugar cubes per 500ml bottle, followed closely by Coca-Cola with 14 sugar cubes per 500ml bottle. 

Over the coming months, Public Health Liverpool will be highlighting the sugar issue with a digital media campaign supported by pop ups, posters and leaflets in various locations such as health centres, dental surgeries, children’s centres and hospitals, identifying how many sugar cubes are in popular breakfast brands. Parents can also visit the website to calculate how much sugar their children are consuming each day.

There has also been some action to raise awareness of the sugar issue at a national level, too. The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and Sustain recently announced the launch of www.sugarsmartuk.org, a central hub of local achievements in raising awareness and reducing sugar consumption. According to the website: “any organisation can pledge to become SUGAR SMART – from councils and schools to restaurants, hospitals and independent companies. Individuals interested in supporting their local campaigns can also join the SUGAR SMART newsletter or sign up as a local volunteer via the website.”

 

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Reference:

1. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-40301978