Reducing Sugar Intake in Children: Practical Advice for Parents

This report focuses on the issue of excessive free sugar consumption in children, primarily targeting parents as the audience. It defines 'free sugars' as those added to foods, highlighting their prevalence in common items like fizzy drinks, packaged juices, and confectionery. The report presents data from the NHS and BBC, revealing the alarming levels of sugar intake among UK children, often exceeding recommended daily limits. It identifies key contributors to this high sugar intake, including sugary drinks, breakfast cereals, and treats. The report emphasizes the potential health consequences of excessive sugar consumption, such as weight gain, dental problems, and increased risk of chronic diseases. It provides practical recommendations for parents, including limiting sugary foods, substituting with healthier alternatives, and ensuring a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Furthermore, the report includes links to valuable resources from organizations like the NHS and Public Health England, empowering parents to make informed decisions and promote healthier eating habits for their children. The report aims to educate parents on the dangers of excess sugar intake, and how to manage it.

The not-so ‘sweet side’ of Sugar: how much should sugar are our
children actually consuming?
DID YOU KNOW?
While they may seem harmless, some of the most popular and commonly consumed foods in our daily lives, which we also
share with our children are actually really high in free sugars. Fizzy drinks and beverages without alcohol, such as carbonated
liquids like cola, commercial sport’s drinks and even packaged drinks, contain some of the highest amounts of free sugars in
them. According to a recent news report by the BBC (2016), popular non-alcoholic beverages like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mountain
Dew and Cherry 7 Up have some of the highest concentrations of sugar, ranging from 9 to almost 13 grams of free sugars for
every 100 ml of drink. That amounts to almost 3 to 5 sugar cubes for every drink! This further reaches a staggering amount
when we multiple this value with the number of times we may offer such drinks to our children for each day, which can be
estimated to be almost 15 to 20 cubes of sugar – an amount much higher than the recommended 5 to 6 cubes of sugar per
day for 5 to 11 year olds by the National Health Service. The list does not end here. In addition to sugary sweetened
beverages and fizzy drinks, some of the highest amounts of free sugars can be found in favorite ‘treats’ like cakes, cookies,
WHAT EXACTLY ARE FREE SUGARS?
‘Free sugars’ are the name given to the
sugars which are not naturally present in
foods (such as fruits) but are added
artificially to enhance flavors of existing
food products. These are the types of
sugars which a majority of children and
adults in the United Kingdom, end up
consuming an excess of. According to the
NHS (2017), the following are some of the
foods containing high amounts of free
sugars:
 Beverages and foods in which
sugars have been added
additionally, such as: chocolate,
cookies, biscuits, breakfast cereals,
fizzy drinks, packaged fruit juices
and even ice creams and frozen
yoghurt. These may be added at
home when preparing such foods of
by food manufacturing companies
and chefs who are preparing and
retailing these items at stores and
restaurants.
 Sugars found in food additives,
condiments and accompaniments,
IS THIS A REAL PROBLEM? WHERE’S THE DATA?
According to a research by Public Health England, reported
recently by the BBC (2018), a majority of children aged 4 to
10 years old in the United Kingdom are consuming twice the
amount of sugar, that is, almost double of 13 sugar cubes,
than what is actually recommended for them to eat. When
the figures are combined annually, it amounts to
approximately an average value of 5000 cubes of sugar by
the children of the United Kingdom, in just one year. Further
details from the survey, participated by 1000 parents and
their children, revealed that some of the primary
contributors of high sugars in children’s diets are: sugary
beverages (like fizzy drinks, juices and energy drinks: 10%),
confectionaries like cakes and buns (10%), breakfast cereals
(8%) and chocolates, ice creams and yoghurt (6 to 7%).
WHY SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?
Fizzy drinks and confectionaries may often feel the most convenient and delectable option
to provide our children with, but often we may be unaware of the amount of sugars
present in them and how gradual consume can contribute to a multitude of health
problems. Consuming sugar and sugar-containing foods in excess amounts can contribute
to problems like weight gain, obesity, diabetes and even heart diseases when children
grow into adolescents and adults. Consuming too much of foods containing sugar can
even cause dental problems like cavities and tooth decay in children and even contribute

OH NO! NOW WHAT?
While it is certainly difficult to completely avoid drinks and foods containing sugar, the following are some of the ways in
which we can limit the amount of free sugars and ensure a balanced diet for our children:
 It is recommended that the intake of sugar by children aged 4 to 10 years must be limited to no greater than 5 to 6
cubes of sugar every day.
 Limit the inclusion of sugary foods like processed juices, fizzy drinks, confectionaries, cookies, candies and chocolates in
children’s diets.
 Fizzy and sugar drinks can be substituted with sugar-free juices and drinks, freshly prepared homemade juices with no
added sugar and beverages made from low-fat, skimmed milk varieties.
 Restrict the intake of unsweetened fruit-based drinks to 150 ml per day.
 Restrict the amount of sweetened hot beverages or sugars added to breakfast cereals. Add whole fruit slices like
bananas, apples or berries instead to your child’s cereal!
 Replace jams and marmalades with fresh fruit slices and homemade fruit purees and fruit spreads.
 Opt for breakfast cereals which are free from sweetened frosting like honey or chocolate coatings.
 Gradually limit the amount of sugar added at home to foods, to no greater than 1 to 2 teaspoons per day.
 Lastly, ensure that your child consumes a balanced diet every day containing 5 portions of whole fruits and vegetables,
2 portions of fish, legumes and lean meat, 5 to 6 portions of whole grains and cereals and 1 to 2 portions of dairy
FURTHER RESOURCE AND LINKS
The following links of information may be useful to better understand the harmful effects of sugar and how we can reduce the same for the health of our
children:
1. The amount of free sugars found in popular fizzy drinks and beverages, reported by the BBC (2016): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-
35831125
2. The daily and yearly sugar intake in children researched by Public Health England and reported by the BBC (2018):
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-44483081
3. Recommendations and tips by the NHS (2017), on how much sugars should children aged 5 to 11 years consume and ways or substitutes by
which this intake can be limited: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect-our-health/
4. Quick guide by Public Health England (2016) on foods servings required for a balanced diet to prevent obesity and associated health problems in
children: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/528193/Eatwell_guide_colour.pdf