KIDS & SUGAR! Live on BBC Breakfast June 2018

Hey guys! Hope youve had a great week so far; in case you missed it heres the clip from my BBC Breakfast appearance last week.. Ive popped more information down below. I really hope you enjoy it! Nic x

THE BACKGROUND STORY:

- Children in England have already exceeded their maximum recommended intake of sugar for the year and are on track to consume the equivalent of around 4,800 cubes of sugar by the end of the year.

- PHEs Change4Life campaign is urging parents to make simple changes, as sugary soft drinks remain one of the main sources of sugar more than ice cream and puddings combined.

- Children aged 4 to 10 years should have no more than the equivalent of 56 cubes of sugar per day, but are consuming on average 13 cubes more than double the maximum recommendation.

MY THOUGHTS:

It certainly is alarming, and I think the issue is that children who are eating and drinking an excessive amount of sugar are more likely to have tooth decay as well as gain weight, which if continued into adulthood increases the risk of preventable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

If kids are filling up on sugary foods and drinks then theyre not going to have enough room for healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables; we already know that many kids arent eating their 5 a day and if kids are filling up on sugar then they are likely to be lacking in fibre and nutrients such as vitamin C and calcium which could affect their development, sleep as well as concentration at school.

Parents are the gatekeepers and they need to control the home food environment; offering food choices within limits.

Kids wont go hungry voluntarily.. we need to gently wean them off their sugary foods so that they are consumed less often, without banning them all together; if parents do ban these foods then kids could end up eating these foods in secret or even stealing food from other children.

Parents need to adopt non-food rewards; take children to the park/spend time with them as opposed to giving them sweets and biscuits for doing well in school or if theyre upset.

Dont make a fuss or comment on the childs weight and equally dont put certain foods on a pedestal, which means offering 2 courses no matter what, this could be a savoury course and then a sweeter course like fruit and yoghurt, but you must never say you have to finish your dinner before you can have dessert; otherwise children may end up disliking the first course.

Theres a new Government obesity strategy is coming out this year and I would hope to see more of a focus put on promoting food variety and balance over vilifying a single nutrient, for example;
1) Funding put in to cook and eat classes for families
2) Healthy after-school snack ideas in supermarkets for parents to take away; which should be in conjunction with discount offers on fruits and vegetables
3) Ideas for lower sugar drinks; so an easy one might be fizzy water with a dash of fruit juice or milk with cocoa.
4) Tighter control on advertising to children, including the allowance of cartoon characters on sugary foods and drinks to reduce pester power
5) Enforcing sweet-free checkouts; like some supermarkets have already adopted.
6) This should be in addition to promoting physical activity; including fun ways that children can achieve the recommended 60 minutes a day.

Change4Life are offering some really easy and practical examples of ways in which kids can lower their sugar intake e.g.

- Swap cola and juice for plain water and low fat milks
- From sugary cereals to plain cereal and porridge
- Sugary yoghurts to plain yoghurt with banana
- Swap biscuits to cream cheese and apple slices on rice cakes
- Swap from chocolate mousse to sugar free jelly