Child-friendly packaging of sugary breakfast cereals and yogurt ought to be banned, consultants say
Breakfast cereals and high-sugar yogurts ought to take away any packaging that appeals to kids, says one well being group.
Action on Sugar warned that the merchandise, which include as much as 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving, are designed to seize a toddler’s consideration and exploit “bullying power.”
It desires corporations to take away cartoon characters, animations and vibrant colours from meals labeled as excessive or medium for sugar, salt or saturated fats, primarily based on the Department of Health’s dietary pointers.
Research by the group, primarily based at Queen Mary University in London, in contrast breakfast cereals and yoghurts provided by totally different corporations within the UK.
It discovered that 47 p.c of breakfast cereals and 65 p.c of yogurt contained one-third of the advisable each day most sugar consumption for a four- to six-year-old, not together with the milk.
Health officers suggest that 4- to 6-year-olds ought to devour not more than 19 g of sugar per day, which is equal to 5 teaspoons. However, the Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows cereal comprises 28.5 g of sugars per 100 g, equal to eight.6 grams of sugar or 2 teaspoons per serving. And the Nestlé Smarties Vanilla yogurt contained 14.6 g of sugars per 100 g, equal to fifteen.6 g of sugars or 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving
Of these, merchandise from grocery store chains Lidl and Aldi and the worldwide model Nestle had the best common sugar content material with child-oriented packaging.
In distinction, more healthy merchandise have been normally offered in less complicated packaging geared toward adults.
Only 9 grains and 6 yogurts examined have been discovered to be low in sugars and solely 4 grains have been low in sugars and salt.
Health officers suggest that 4- to 6-year-olds ought to devour not more than 19 g of sugar per day, which is equal to 5 teaspoons.
However, the Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows cereal comprises 28.5 g of sugars per 100 g, equal to eight.6 grams of sugar or 2 teaspoons per serving.
And the Nestlé Smarties Vanilla yogurt contained 14.6 g of sugars per 100 g, equal to fifteen.6 g of sugars or 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular drugs at Queen Mary University of London and chair of Action on Sugar, mentioned: ‘Obesity is estimated to cost the UK £58 billion a year, having a huge impact on economic productivity and the NHS.
Nestlé, Lidl and Aldi had the highest sugars on average in their child-oriented breakfast cereals and yogurt. Nestlé’s Smarties Vanilla yogurt recorded the best sugar content material at 15.6g, the equal of 4 teaspoons per serving
Only 9 breakfast cereals and 6 yogurts examined have been discovered to include little sugar. Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows reported the best sugar content material with 8.6 g per serving, the equal of two teaspoons
‘Drastic changes are needed in the food system and that includes responsible marketing of food and drink, especially for children.’
There are restrictions on promoting meals excessive in fats, salt and sugar throughout peak occasions for kids’s TV viewing, however there aren’t any particular guidelines on visible attraction and packaging design that affect kids’s preferences.
Action on Sugar mentioned this advertising and marketing tactic, referred to as “bullying power,” was “deliberately designed to grab the attention of children and influence their carers’ purchases.”
Lidl introduced in 2020 that it will be eradicating cartoon characters from all own-brand breakfast cereal packaging in Britain.
In breakfast cereals and yogurt, the sugar content material dropped considerably between 2015 and 2020, by 14.9 p.c and 13.5 p.c, respectively.
But the sugar discount program introduced within the authorities’s weight problems plan in 2016 set a goal of 20 p.c in that timeframe.
Dr. Kawther Hashem, marketing campaign supervisor at Action on Sugar, mentioned: ‘It is ridiculous that while breakfast cereals and yoghurts celebrate the biggest reductions in sugars during the Sugar Reduction Program, those same products with child-friendly packaging still contain excessive amounts of sugars. for regular intake by children.
“Given the rising number of under-18s with weight-related health problems and tooth decay as the leading cause of childhood hospitalization, now is the time for companies to be forced to remove child-friendly packaging from products that mislead parents and leave our children unhealthy and sick. ‘
Zoe Davies, nutritionist at Action on Sugar, said: ‘There is no reason why products with high or medium levels of salt or sugar should be marketed as ‘suitable for children’.
“If we wish to defend the well being of our future era, decisive motion is now wanted from each authorities and trade, whereby child-friendly packaging ought to solely be positioned on more healthy merchandise.”
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals ought to be primarily based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or different starchy carbohydrates, ideally complete grains, in keeping with the NHS
• Eat no less than 5 servings of various fruit and veggies every single day. All contemporary, frozen, dried and canned fruit and greens depend
• Basic meals primarily based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or different starchy carbohydrates, ideally complete grains
• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is equal to consuming all the following: 5 servings of fruit and veggies, 2 whole-wheat muesli biscuits, 2 thick slices of whole-wheat bread, and a big baked potato with pores and skin
• Include some dairy merchandise or dairy options (akin to soy drinks) and select decrease fats and sugar choices
• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and different proteins (together with 2 servings of fish per week, considered one of which is fatty)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and devour in small portions
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water per day
• Adults ought to have lower than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fats for ladies or 30 g for males per day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
