Young still exceeding sugar recommendation

Children aged four to 10 years are consuming more than double the recommended amount of sugar, according to the latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS).

The survey, published by Public Health England (PHE), shows that sugar makes up 13 per cent of children’s (four-10 years-old) daily calorie intake, despite official recommendations limiting intake to five per cent. In teenagers, the consumption rate was 15 per cent, while it was 12 per cent in adults.

The survey also confirms that the UK population continues to consume too much saturated fat and not enough fruit, vegetables and fibre. Average saturated fat intake for adults aged 19 to 64 is 12.7 per cent of daily calorie intake, above the 11 per cent recommendation.

Additionally, only 27 per cent per cent of adults, 35 per cent of older adults and eight per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds meet the ‘5 A Day’ recommendation for fruit and vegetables.

Conversely, and perhaps more positively, PHE has revealed that consumption of sugary drinks has fallen compared to six years ago, a key part of the government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: “While it is encouraging that young children are having fewer sugary drinks, they still have far too much sugar in their diet overall, along with teenagers and adults. To help tackle this, PHE is launching a programme to challenge the food industry to remove at least 20 per cent of the sugar in its products by 2020. It’s an ambitious programme, a world first, and will be a significant step on the road to reducing child obesity levels.

“Over one in three children leaving primary school and almost two in three adults are overweight or obese which means they are more prone to developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. This is why the government’s recent Childhood Obesity Plan announced that PHE is to lead a programme to challenge food and drink manufacturers, retailers and the ‘out of home’ sector (like restaurants, cafes and takeaways) to reduce the amount of sugar in their products.”