Do we need extra sugar in our diet? I don’t think so.

Recently, Public Health England (PHE) reported that children have “exceeded the maximum recommended sugar intake for an 18 year old by the time they reach their tenth birthday”. I am horrified by this statistic, especially as much of this sugar comes from sugary breakfast cereal, fizzy drinks, juices and yogurt.

Recommendations

In 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)  made some  recommendations on maximum sugar intake ranging from 19g (5 teaspoons) for a 4 year old to 30g (7 teaspoons) for 11 year olds and older. In the same year the World Health Organization recommended that the calories derived from added sugar should not exceed 10% of the body’s calorific daily requirement and ideally less than 5%. For an ‘average’ person this is about 25g of added sugar per day.

Certainly, everyone should be cutting down on the amount of added sugar they eat because it has no nutritional value. Reducing sugar will benefit everyone both in terms of not being overweight and being healthier.

Actions

What can we all do to reduce added sugar? I think we need to regard sugar as a treat for special occasions only, not an everyday commodity.

If you have babies and toddlers, it is probably easier to limit sugar than if you have older children who will be used to sugar. Here are my suggestions:

• Start as you mean to go on with babies and toddlers: water is the drink of choice.
• Cook porridge or make muesli if you’d like something with more flavour possibilities.
• Cook from scratch so that you know what’s in the food you are eating.
• Avoid processed food as much as possible because it’s got lots of sugar in it.
• If you buy processed food become an avid label reader so that you know just what is in it.
• Don’t serve puddings or desserts on a regular basis. Make them treats.
• Remove cakes, biscuits and crisps from the snack menu. Replace with fruit or nuts.

I know this is rather uncompromising but it’s how we are really meant to eat. Even following one suggestion will help.

In the same vein, Change4Life, an English social marketing campaign to reduce obesity which dates back to 2009, suggests making swaps to reduce sugar. The website https://www.nhs.uk/change4life looks fun and has quizzes that will appeal to children.

There is also a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/change4life/

Most importantly, when children’s health is involved it’s vital to guide them into good habits that will last their whole lives.