A new campaign called Change4Life was launched by Public Health England on Monday to encourage parents to be sugar smart and to control their child's sugar intake. It also warns parents about the negative effects of eating too much sugar on children's health.
Change4Life encourages the use of the Sugar Smart app, which both children and parents can use to determine how much sugar certain kinds of food contain.
One surprising revelation shown in the campaign's website is that children aged four to 10 years old consume about 5,500 cubes of sugar annually. This amount of sugar weighs an estimated 22 kilograms, which is the average weight of five-year-old children.
"Children aged 5 shouldn't have more than 19 grams of sugar per day. That's 5 cubes, but it's very easy to have more," Dr. Alison Tedstone, Public Health England chief nutritionist, said in a news release. "That's why we want parents to be 'Sugar Smart.' Our easy to use app will help parents see exactly where the sugar in their children's diet is coming from, so they can make informed choices about what to cut down on."
According to Change4Life, the maximum amount of added sugar is five cubes for children aged four to six years, six cubes for those aged seven to 10 years and seven cubes for those 11 years old and older (including adults).
However, children consume three times more than the daily recommended amount. In the U.K., kids get 30 percent of their sugar consumption from sugary drinks. A can of cola, for example, contains about nine sugar cubes, which exceeds the recommended maximum amount not just for kids but also for adults.
Eating too much sugar can cause weight gain and obesity, which in turn can put people at risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, according to the NHS.
"Children are having too much sugar, 3 times the maximum recommended amount," Tedstone said. "This can lead to painful tooth decay, weight gain and obesity, which can also affect children's well being as they are more likely to be bullied, have low self-esteem and miss school."
