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Kids and sugar

6th March 2020
Posted by Aston Avery

Kids consume 5,738 sugar cubes a year, yet kids’ preference for sugary snacks is often an assumption, and kids do actually enjoy more simple and natural foods just as much, according to a new study. The study, which included new research and a behavioural experiment saw children aged 6-10 complete a series of tasks to find out their true preferences when it came to snacking. Simple foods such as strawberry, apple and grapes came out on top when compared to more artificial flavours, with nine out of ten participants choosing healthier snacks when given the choice.

A typical youngster will also gobble down a shocking 260 packets of crisps, 208 chocolate bars, 260 bowls of sugary cereal, 208 glasses of fruit juice and an equal quantity (208) of cake slices each year. All of these delectable treats add up to around 63 grams of sugar a day, which is more than double of Public Health England’s daily recommended maximum intake of five-six sugar cubes (24g) per day.

Aston spoke to Anjula Mutunda, psychologist and Rhiannon Lambert, nutritionist to discuss the research in further detail and they also spoke about an experiment that was carried out.