'Supersize snacks making kids obese'

Extra large chocolate bars and mega-sized crisp packets are to blame for Britain's epidemic of child obesity, experts said today.

A leading dietician coined the term "supersizing" to describe big packets of sweets and junk food which are "aggressively marketed" at children.

A conference of experts is debating the issue in Bristol amid fears that parents could start outliving their children because of illnesses linked to obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.

One in 10 children is now classed as overweight and 2.6 per cent are obese. One in five gets more than 20 per cent of their calories from sugar: twice the recommended amount.

Dr Susan Jebb, of the Human Nutrition Research Centre in Cambridge, said: "An adult may buy a mega-sized packet of crisps, eat half and save the rest. Children will eat the whole lot in one go.

"For a nine- or 10-year-old, an ordinary Mars bar adds up to about 15 per cent of their recommended daily energy needs. A king-sized Mars contains about a quarter."

She said children increasingly lead couch potato lives while food portions have got bigger amid "go large" product promotions. "We need to educate children and parents into not always opting for the mega packet," she added.