Tag: sugar

New campaign launched to help parents improve children’s diet

  • New Better Health campaign launches today to help families eat better, with new NHS Food Scanner App feature offering healthier alternatives
  • Former ‘Girls Aloud’ member Nadine Coyle, dietician Dr Linia Patel and a Netmums family test the app in a new film supporting the campaign
  • 60% of parents say they are giving their children more sugary or fatty snacks than before the pandemic

Families will be given support to help to improve the diets of their children through a new campaign as the new statistics reveal the number of parents giving unhealthy snacks to their children has increased during the pandemic.

The multimedia Better Health campaign has been launched today [Monday January 10] to encourage families to eat better and includes a new ‘scan, swipe and swap’ feature for the NHS Food Scanner App, which provides a simple solution to help families maintain a healthier diet.

The campaign follows a record rise in obesity amongst children since the start of the pandemic, with latest data highlighting that one in four (27.7%) children of reception school age are overweight or obese; this rises to 4 in 10 (40.9%) in Year 6 (ages 10-11). Evidence shows that families purchased food more during lockdowns and this remained above normal levels even once lockdowns ended.

A new survey conducted with Netmums showed that nearly 6 in 10 (58%) parents give their children more sugary or fatty snacks than before the pandemic and nearly two-thirds (64%) of parents said they often worry about how healthy their children’s snacks really are. Nearly 90% of parents said they would benefit from an App which would help them make healthier choices for their children.

Families can scan the product barcodes from their shop and the app will suggest healthier alternatives to help them make an easy swap next time they shop.

The app uses a “Good Choice” badge to help signpost people to healthier food and drinks in line with the government’s dietary recommendations for added sugar, saturated fat and salt.

Public Health Minister Maggie Throup said: “We know that families have felt a lot of pressure throughout the pandemic which has drastically changed habits and routines.

“The new year is a good time for making resolutions, not just for ourselves, but for our families. Finding ways to improve their health is one of the best resolutions any of us could make.

“By downloading the free NHS Food Scanner App, families can swap out foods from the weekly shop for healthier alternatives and avoid items high in salt, sugar and saturated fat.”

Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at DHSC said: “We are all aware of the increased pressures families have been under throughout the pandemic with children being stuck at home more.

“With advertising promoting unhealthy foods to kids, it’s not surprising that parents say they’ve often found it hard to resist pestering from their children for more unhealthy snacks, and that is why the NHS Food Scanner App is a great tool to help families make quick and easy healthier swaps.

“It’s so important that children reduce the amount of sugary, fatty and salty foods they eat to help them stay healthy and reduce the risk of health problems such as diabetes and tooth decay.”

‘Girls Aloud’ member Nadine Coyle and dietician Dr Linia Patel met with a family to talk about eating habits and to trial the NHS Food Scanner App for themselves, and recorded a short film to support the campaign.

Nadine Coyle said: “As a busy working mum, I find it hard to say no to my kid’s demands and often give in to “snack” pressure – even though I know it’s not that good for them. I had no idea some foods were so high in sugar, saturated fat and salt – so it’s great that the App gives you alternatives.

“I love using the NHS Food Scanner App and so does my daughter; she likes choosing the healthier swaps which is great – we are already making small changes through good food choices.”

Dr Linia Patel, Dietician said: “We know that parents find it really hard to find healthier snacks for their kids, especially if they’re fussy eaters.

“The NHS Food Scanner App is a fun way to get the kids involved in choosing healthier foods that they’ll love – so get going and scan, swipe, swap!”

Annie O’Leary, Netmums Editorial Director said: “That two thirds or parents find they’re giving kids more treats as snacks than pre-pandemic doesn’t surprise me in the slightest – we all comfort ate our way through the pandemic and I know my kids ate far more treats than usual.

“But thank heavens there’s now something to help get us all back on track. And that it’s from the gold standard in terms of trustworthiness, the NHS, hopefully means millions of families will be downloading it and using it ASAP.

“Shopping for snacks can be an absolute minefield for busy parents, so thank you for coming to the rescue yet again, NHS.”

As part of the UK Government’s Obesity Strategy, the department is regulating the promotion of less healthy foods to children and has dedicated £100m of funding to support children, adults and families achieve and maintain a healthier weight.

The NHS Food Scanner App provides parents with the ideal hack to improve their children’s health in 2022. The free App can be downloaded or search ‘Food Scanner App’.

Healthy Heart Tips: Insulin and our Hearts

Insulin is an important hormone that allows sugar to move from our blood, after digesting food, into our muscles and fat cells to be either burned or stored.

Diabetes, is the name we give to the disease related to problems with our insulin. Whilst some types of Diabetes are caused by factors out of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can usually be prevented in younger individuals by adopting a healthy lifestyle. What’s more, most of the lifestyle actions we can take to limit our diabetes risk will also help to improve our heart health!

With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that:

Eat more Fibre

Fibre can not only help to reduce cholesterol levels but also helps to slow down how quickly our blood sugar levels increase. Try and swap white pasta and bread for wholegrain options, eat more fruit and vegetables, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds.

Create Activity Opportunities

Staying active is one of the most effective ways to maintain our weight and lower blood pressure. Consider how you can incorporate a minimum of one ‘activity opportunity’ every day, whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning your house, or dusting off your old bike. Remember to keep it fresh and do something you enjoy!

Take the 5% Challenge

Reducing our bodyweight by more than 5% is an effective way to positively manage our future health, however any weight loss is beneficial, so start small and build on your success! Remember to set a goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-2lb per week is sustainable.

Know Your Numbers

Eating excessive amounts of sugar over many years can be harmful to our health. Try and opt for foods with less than 5g of sugar per 100g most of the time, and limit high sugar foods such as fizzy drinks and sweets to less than twice per week.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Cut down on sugar in your drinks

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Cut down on sugar in your drinks

TODAY 14th November is World Diabetes Day. Consuming too much sugar in your diet can lead to weight-gain as well as increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Over a quarter of the added sugar in our diets is believed to come from the drinks we consume. The focus of this week’s tip is on reducing the amount of sugar in your drinks.

Choose sugar-free or reduced-sugar drinks

When you feel thirsty, water is always the best option. Try swapping your sugary soft drink for a glass of water or a sugar-free or reduced-sugar drink. If you are not keen on the taste of water, you could try adding a slice of lemon and/or some mint leaves.

 

Save sugary drinks for an occasional treat

If you don’t want to stop drinking your favourite sugary drink permanently, try limiting the amount you drink by consuming it less frequently and in smaller quantities. Unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies also contain sugar, so try to limit your intake to no more than 150ml a day.

Avoid adding sugar, syrups and honey to hot drinks

If you usually add sugar, syrups or honey to hot drinks, why not gradually reduce the amount you add, until you can cut it out altogether. Alternatively, you could use an artificial sweetener, however this will not help you to adjust your taste preference for sweet drinks.

Cut down on sugar from alcoholic drinks

Alcoholic drinks can be high in sugar. A pint of cider contains around five teaspoons of sugar. Try to reduce your sugar intake by consuming alcoholic drinks less frequently, in smaller measures and by combining alcoholic drinks with sugar-free or reduced-sugar mixers, such as sugar-free tonic water.

A recent report from Action on Sugar identified very high levels of sugar in ready to drink alcoholic beverages, such as cans of ready mixed cocktails (http://www.actiononsugar.org/media/actiononsugar/Alcohol-Survey-Report.pdf).

For more healthy tips, recipes and advice, please visit heartresearch.org.uk.

Heart Research UK Healthy tip – Reducing your sugar intake

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Reducing your sugar intake

Around 63% of adults in the UK are either overweight or obese. Excess weight gain occurs when you consume more calories (energy) than you need. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of heart disease. Sugar provides energy and consuming too much can lead to weight gain.

In this Healthy Tip, we provide some tips for lowering your intake of sugary foods and drinks to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Check food labels

When checking food labels be aware that added sugar can be listed in a variety of ways, such as sucrose, glucose, maltose, fructose, dextrose, honey, syrup, molasses, treacle or fruit juice concentrates. The food label may also provide information on
how much sugar is contained.

High in sugar – Foods that are high in sugar contain 22.5g or more of total sugars per 100g

Low in sugar – Foods that are low in sugar contain 5g or less of total sugars per 100g

Save sugary foods and drinks for an occasional sweet treat

We all like to have a treat from time to time, but if we consume sugary foods and drinks too often, it can be a risk to our health. Sugar is added to many commonly consumed food and drink products, such as cakes, biscuits, puddings, sweets, chocolate, soft drinks and sweetened yoghurts. Try to limit the amount of these foods and drinks in your diet by eating them less often and in smaller portions.

Reduce sugar in your drinks

If you usually add sugar to hot drinks, why not cut back gradually on the amount of sugar you add, until you can cut it out altogether. Alternatively, you could opt for an artificial sweetener, however this will not help you to adjust your taste preference for less sugary drinks. Try swapping sugary soft drinks for water, sugar-free or reduced-sugar drinks. Unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies also contain sugar so try to limit your intake to no more than 150ml a day.

Reduce your sugar intake at breakfast time

Frosted, chocolate or honey-covered breakfast cereals tend to be high in sugar. Try replacing these with unsweetened wholegrain breakfast cereals. For added sweetness, you could top your breakfast cereal with fruit, such as sliced bananas or berries and this will also contribute to your 5 a day.

Switch to low-sugar desserts

For a low-sugar dessert try adding fruit to a low-fat and low-sugar yoghurt. If using tinned fruit, choose tins in juice rather than
syrup. If you cannot resist a sugary pudding, eating a smaller portion is a better option as it will contain less sugar than a regular-sized portion.

What about the sugars contained in fruit?

Fruit contains naturally occurring sugars as well as fibre, vitamins, minerals and water. In this combination fruit is generally regarded as being good for our health. Eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day is recommended as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Are honey and brown sugar healthy options?

Although they are often marketed as healthier options, brown sugar and honey are not better for you than white sugar. These products are simply different forms of sugar and they are all high in calories. Brown sugar is the same as white sugar, with a small amount of molasses added in to give it a brown colour and a different flavour. Although honey is a natural product, it has a low nutritional value and it is also high in calories. Therefore, you should try to reduce your intake of honey and brown sugar as well as other types of sugar and syrups.

Further information

If you would like further information on weight management, you can get advice and support from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-weight-loss-plan/

You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

Oh, sugar! How to curb your family’s enthusiasm

There are many foods which are high in sugar which you may not be aware of. Whilst many of these (e.g. fruit smoothies) contain key nutrients, eating a large amount of these foods can also contribute to you becoming overweight.

Take a look at the graphics from AXA PPP healthcare to see how your breakfast –you’re your kids’ – contributes to your daily sugar intake. Continue reading Oh, sugar! How to curb your family’s enthusiasm

Don’t be fooled by sweet talk, warns Green MSP

Scottish Greens are warning that yesterday’s ‘pledge’ by soft drinks firms to reduce the amount of sugar in their products is a diversion from the real issue.

The Public Health Responsibility Deal includes AG Barr, who produce IrnBru. However, Barr say they have no plans to reduce the sugar content of their regular IrnBru product. The deal has previously been criticised as being industry-led and does not have the support of organisations such as Alcohol Concern, the British Heart Foundation, the British Medical Association and Diabetes UK.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian (pictured below), said: “The issue of what’s in our food has returned to the top of people’s agendas with the supermarket value burgers scandal. Today’s incredibly weak fizzy drink deal is a diversion from the real problem of secret sugar. People know full well fizzy drinks are bad for their health but many will be unaware of the hidden sugar they’re consuming in common foods like crisps, pizzas, burger buns and ready meals. Even baby foods and rusks are bloated with sugar.

“If we are serious about tackling the growing obesity and diabetes crisis in Scotland we must keep up with the processed food industry and big retailers. It’s not just drinks firms who know how addictive sugars and sweeteners are.”

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