Children in Britain 'consume 22kg in sugar each year'

Children in Britain are consuming their body weight in sugar each year, new research has revealed.

Youngsters between the ages of four and 10 years old eat about 22kg – more than 5,500 sugar cubes – each year, which equals the weight of an average five-year-old.

A new Change4Life campaign has today been launched urging parents to get ‘sugar smart’ and take control of their children’s intake of sugar.

The new campaign comes after it was revealed almost a third of five-year-olds and nearly 50 per cent of eight year olds in the UK had tooth decay in 2013.

The campaign, backed by Public Health England (PHE), has created a new app that allows parents to scan the barcode of products to find out how much sugar it contains.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist for PHE, said: "Children are having too much sugar, three times the maximum recommended amount.

“This can lead to painful tooth decay, weight gain and obesity, which can also affect children's well-being as they are more likely to be bullied, have low self-esteem and miss school.”

Obesity currently costs the NHS £5.1 billion each year and the figure is expected to rise to £9.7 billion by 2050.