TRICK OR TREAT? A SWEET EPIDEMIC

A whopping 80% of kids eat three times the recommended sugar limit each day

- ANNA

Child obesity levels are at record highs, with four in 10 children obese or overweight by the time they finish primary school. Research from University College London suggests 80% of children are eating dangerous amounts of sugar – on average 18 teaspoons of sugar a day by the age of seven, when the recommended limit is six. And a study of 1,000 children aged between two and eight by the European Centre for Obesity Management showed that overweight children’s hearts are already suffering by the age of six, putting them at a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and liver disease. One mother decided to put her kids on a new regime…

‘I banned my children from eating sugar – this is what happened next’

Anna Tyzack has four children, Hector, nine, Alfred, eight, Horatio, six, and Edgar, one. There’s so much judgement surrounding what we feed our children; rice cakes and houmous are healthier, I know, but I take the view that the odd treat won’t do any harm if they eat a healthy supper. Everything in moderation, surely?

But a closer look at the nutrition labels of my children’s favourite puddings and snacks reveals that the sugar lumps quickly mount up.