New data reveals nearly 31 per cent of children in their last year of primary school in Cornwall are already overweight or obese.

A new campaign launched today by Public Health England encourages parents to cut down the amount of sugar their children consume by making one or more simple swaps.

Eating and drinking too much sugar means extra calories, which causes fat to build up inside the body. This can lead to heart disease, some cancers or type two diabetes later in life.

Sugar can also have a devastating impact upon dental health, an integral part of overall health.

Tooth decay was the most common reason for hospital admissions for children aged five to nine in 2012-13. Twenty eight per cent of five year olds in England have tooth decay and of these, 24 per cent have five or more teeth affected. 

Across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset a high percentage of children start school either overweight or obese, which only increases by the time they are in their last year of primary school:

• In Cornwall, 25.3% (1,319) children, start school either overweight or obese, which then becomes 30.9% (1,413) for those in their last year of school

• In Devon, 23.4% (1,624) children start school either overweight or obese, which then becomes 30.3% (1,982) for those in their last year of school

• In Plymouth, 25% (705) children start school either overweight or obese, which then becomes 33.2% (745) for those in their last year of school

• In Somerset, 23.51% (1,231) children start school either overweight or obese, which then becomes 30.9% (1,463) for those in their last year of school

• In Torbay, 25.2% (327) children start school either overweight or obese, which then becomes 35.5% (413) for those in their last year of school Children who are overweight or obese when they are young are far more likely to become overweight or obese adults and these figures demonstrate the increasing need to address children’s diet and limit future health problems.

While guidelines state that no more that ten per cent of a person’s daily energy or calorie intake should be made up of sugar, at present, children aged four to ten are consuming up to 50 per cent more than this. Children aged 4-10 get 17 per cent of their daily sugar from soft drinks; 17 per cent from biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies, 14 per cent from confectionery, 13 per cent from fruit juice, and eight per cent from breakfast cereals.

The Change4Life campaign recommends four simple 'Sugar Swaps' to choose from, tackling different ‘sugar occasions’ in the day:

 The Breakfast Swap: sugary cereal for plain cereal e.g. wholewheat biscuit cereal

The Drink Swap: e.g. from sugary drinks to sugar-free or no-added-sugar drinks

The After School Swap: for example from muffins to fruited teacake

The Pudding Swap: for example from ice cream to low-fat lower-sugar yoghurt

Russ Moody, health and wellbeing programme lead for the Devon, Cornwall and Somerset Public Health England Centre said: “Reducing sugar intake is important for the health of our children both now and in the future. We are all eating too much sugar and the impact this has on our health is evident.

“This campaign is about taking small steps to address this. We know from past campaigns that making simple swaps works and makes a real difference. This year we wanted to be even more single minded in our approach, which is why we are focusing on sugar alone.

“The family challenge highlights that simple swaps could lead to big changes if sustained over time and we’d urge parents in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset to try one more simple swap in January and beyond.”

Throughout the campaign, families will be able to register for their FREE Sugar Swaps pack which they will receive through the post. The packs are filled with hints, tips and recipe suggestions designed to help parents cut down the sugary foods and drinks consumed by their children, plus money-off vouchers, swap cards and stickers. To sign up, families just need to search Change4Life and register.