Breakfast cereals and high-sugar yogurts should remove any packaging that appeals to children, says one health group.
Action on Sugar warned that the products, which contain up to 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving, are designed to grab a child’s attention and exploit “bullying power.”
It wants companies to remove cartoon characters, animations and vibrant colors from foods classified as high or medium for sugar, salt or saturated fat, based on the Department of Health’s dietary guidelines.
Research by the group, based at Queen Mary University in London, compared breakfast cereals and yoghurts offered by different companies in the UK.
It found that 47 percent of breakfast cereals and 65 percent of yogurt contained one-third of the recommended daily maximum sugar intake for a four- to six-year-old, not including the milk.
Health officials recommend that 4- to 6-year-olds should consume no more than 19 g of sugar per day, which is equivalent to five teaspoons. However, the Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows cereal contains 28.5 g of sugars per 100 g, equivalent to 8.6 grams of sugar or 2 teaspoons per serving. And the Nestlé Smarties Vanilla yogurt contained 14.6 g of sugars per 100 g, equivalent to 15.6 g of sugars or 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving
Of these, products from supermarket chains Lidl and Aldi and the international brand Nestle had the highest average sugar content with child-oriented packaging.
In contrast, healthier products were usually sold in simpler packaging aimed at adults.
Only nine grains and six yogurts tested were found to be low in sugars and only four grains were low in sugars and salt.
Health officials recommend that 4- to 6-year-olds should consume no more than 19 g of sugar per day, which is equivalent to five teaspoons.
However, the Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows cereal contains 28.5 g of sugars per 100 g, equivalent to 8.6 grams of sugar or 2 teaspoons per serving.
And the Nestlé Smarties Vanilla yogurt contained 14.6 g of sugars per 100 g, equivalent to 15.6 g of sugars or 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chair of Action on Sugar, said: ‘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 highest sugar content at 15.6g, the equivalent of four teaspoons per serving
Only nine breakfast cereals and six yogurts tested were found to contain little sugar. Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows reported the highest sugar content with 8.6 g per serving, the equivalent 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 advertising foods high in fat, salt and sugar during peak times for children’s TV viewing, but there are no specific rules on visual appeal and packaging design that influence children’s preferences.
Action on Sugar said this marketing tactic, known as “bullying power,” was “deliberately designed to grab the attention of children and influence their carers’ purchases.”
Lidl announced in 2020 that it would be removing cartoon characters from all own-brand breakfast cereal packaging in Britain.
In breakfast cereals and yogurt, the sugar content dropped significantly between 2015 and 2020, by 14.9 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
But the sugar reduction program announced in the government’s obesity plan in 2016 set a target of 20 percent in that time frame.
Dr. Kawther Hashem, campaign manager at Action on Sugar, said: ‘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 want to protect the health of our future generation, decisive action is now needed from both government and industry, whereby child-friendly packaging should only be placed on healthier products.”