Children in the North West treating their way to health time bomb

Research to mark Sugar Awareness Week shows kids in the North West are eating the equivalent of three 1kg bags of sugar a year just by going to friends’ birthday parties.

Easter weekend sees children in the region consume an average of 500g of sugar, 303g at Halloween - and over the Christmas period a huge 1,770g.

The government recommends that children aged 16 should eat an average of no more than 30g per day (27g for girls and 33g for boys), with 24g for 7-10-year-olds and 10g for 4-6-year-olds.

But parents of under-16s in the North West say their children are eating 47g of sugar on a typical school day just by eating extra treats, according to a survey for natural sweetener NatVia.

Paul Evans, Vice Chairman of the British Obesity Society and Operations Director for School Health UK, said: “This worrying survey shows British children are treating their way to a health timebomb.

“Eating too much sugar is linked to obesity, heart problems, tooth decay and diabetes – and it will cost the NHS millions to treat these diseases in the future.”

Parents in the North West claim their kids are eating on average three biscuits, three chocolate bars, two cans of fizzy drink and three cups of fruit juice during a typical school week day.

Children in the region attend an average of 10 birthday parties a year where they consume an average of 303g of sugar at each one by munching on cake and small bags of sweets, among other sugary treats.

This means that children in the North West are eating an average of 3,030g of sugar at birthday parties alone over the course of the year.

Most (95%) parents of under-16s say they put sweets into their children’s party bags, with the most popular being bags of sweets (54%), lollipops (52%) and chocolate bars (52%).

Easter sees children in the North West chomp through an average of six eggs; with each egg containing an average of 61.6g of sugar, this amounts to 370g from chocolate eggs alone.

At Halloween, kids’ sugar intake in the region hits 303g as they indulge in an average of five small bags of sweets and five chocolate bars.

Half (48%) of North West parents surveyed say sweet treats are part of the fun of the occasion, and a quarter (27%) let their children decide how many sweets they eat.

The biggest worries for parents in the North West about their children’s sugar consumption was tooth decay (39%), dental cavities (40%) and obesity (38%).