DT News - UK - New campaign aids families in making healthier snack choices for kids

New campaign aids families in making healthier snack choices for kids

Change4Life is a new campaign aimed at helping UK parents make healthier snack choices for their children. (Photograph: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock)

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 24 January 2018

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LONDON, UK: In a new move by Public Health England (PHE), a campaign has been initiated to help parents take control of their children’s snacking. Promoting healthier eating, Change4Life is aimed at reducing children’s sugar intake, which is currently around seven sugar cubes a day. Most of this comes from unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks, often leading to obesity and dental caries.

According to PHE, annually children eat almost 400 biscuits; more than 120 cakes, buns and pastries; around 100 portions of sweets; and roughly 70 of both chocolate bars and ice creams, all washed down with over 150 juice drink pouches and cans of soft drink. It has been reported that children on average are consuming at least three unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks a day, with around a third consuming four or more, and the overall result is an intake of three times more sugar than the recommended limit.

The new Change4Life campaign encourages parents to “look for 100 calorie snacks, two a day max”. Selected supermarkets are supporting the intuitive. Tesco will help parents, in-store and online, choose affordable, healthier snacks that are 100 calories or fewer. Co-op has also committed to providing tasty and healthy snack products, hoping to make it easier for customers to make healthier choices on the go. Parents can also obtain discount vouchers from Change4Life to help them try healthier snack options, including malt loaf, lower-sugar fromage frais and drinks with no added sugar.

Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE, said: “The true extent of children’s snacking habits is greater than the odd biscuit or chocolate bar. Children are having unhealthy snacks throughout the day and parents have told us they’re concerned. To make it easier for busy families, we’ve developed a simple rule of thumb to help them move towards healthier snacking—look for 100 calories snacks, two a day max.”

Additionally, PHE has developed the Change4Life Food Scanner app, which shows parents the number of calories and the amount of sugar, salt and saturated fat in foods to make healthier choices easier. PHE is now working with the food industry to cut 20 per cent of sugar from the products children consume most by 2020, with efforts to reduce the number of calories to start this year.

More information about Change4Life can be obtained here.