North Swindon MP & Co-Chair Of All Party Parliamentary Group For Sport Backs Campaign To Get Children Eating Healthy Snacks

North Swindon MP and Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sport, Justin Tomlinson, has given his support to Public Health England and Change4Life’s latest campaign to get children eating healthier snacks.

A third of children leave primary school overweight or obese, and PHE is working with the food industry to cut 20% of sugar from the products children consume most by 2020, with work to reduce calories due to start in 2018.

Around half of children’s sugar intake comes through unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks. Each year children are consuming almost 400 biscuits; more than 120 cakes, buns and pastries; around 100 portions of sweets; nearly 70 of both chocolate bars and ice creams; washed down with over 150 juice drink pouches and cans of fizzy drink.

On average, children are consuming at least three unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks a day, with around a third consuming four or more. The overall result is that children consume 3 times more sugar than is recommended, leading to a significant problems with obesity and dental decay.

The campaign is encouraging parents to think “100 calorie snacks, 2 a day max” in order to get them to consider healthier snack options. This advice applies to all snacks apart from fruit and vegetables, as children should also be encouraged to eat a variety of these to achieve their Five-A-Day.

Some supermarkets are also getting involved in the campaign, with Tesco and the Co-Op helping to promote healthy eating and help parents identify healthy snack options. Parents can also get money-off vouchers from Change4Life to help them try healthier snack options, including malt loaf, lower-sugar fromage frais, and drinks with no added sugar.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “Tackling childhood obesity is something I am very passionate about. I have lobbied the Government to use the Sugar Tax to help fund school sport, and successfully campaigned to save the £150 million a year School Sports Partnership. I am very supportive of this campaign, it is vital to get parents and children to consider healthier food options.”