Cut sugary drinks from children’s diet, parents advised

Children are drinking too many sugary drinks, and parents should limit their consumption, the leading public health authority in England has warned.

Consumption of soft drinks and fruit juice among young children, and energy drinks among teenagers, can lead to major health implications including obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

In Scotland 29 per cent of children are at risk of being overweight or becoming obese, according to the Scottish Health Survey.

RELATED CONTENT

Obesity - a growing concern

Tax sugary drinks, doctors advise

Energy in, energy out- tackling childhood obesity

The recommendations from Public Health England (PHE) coincide with a report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) which also advises consumption of drinks sweetened by sugar should be minimised by both adults and children. Children's sugar consumption should be halved, the bodies recommend.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of PHE, said: “There is nothing good about a sugary drink, particularly if you are under the age of 11, and we must work together to find ways to wean ourselves from the sugar habit.”

On Monday the British Medical Association called for a 20 per cent tax on sugary drinks and stricter regulations on fast food outlets and promotion.

Other academics have called for a tax on sugar at source.

In Scotland there have also been calls for stricter public health legislation on sugar, including by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and at a recent Holyrood conference on child obesity. 

The Responsible Retailing of Energy Drinks campaign recently met with MSPs of all parties to discuss how to prevent children accessing the products, which usually have high levels of sugar and caffeine.  

A recent report by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICE) found obesity is costing the Scottish economy up to £4.6bn a year – which equates to £145 every second – through absenteeism and lack of productivity, and drains the NHS of up to £600m.