British children 'consuming their body weight in sugar'
Many British children are consuming their own body weight in sugar each year, the government health organisation Public Health England has warned.
Video report by ITV News correspondent Rebecca Barry
The average child aged between four and ten now eats around 22kg of sugar each year - equivalent to the weight of a five-year-old and raising the risk of a host of health conditions, research by PHE has found.
It has launched a free 'sugar smart' phone app that allows users to see how much sugar is in food and drink to help families in a bid to help families cut down.
The app, which is part of the 'Change4life' healthy lifestyles campaign, is aimed at tackling the rising number of children who are overweight and suffering from related health risks such as diabetes and tooth decay.
The new app allows users to scan the barcodes of products and get an instant reading of how much sugar they contain in either grams or the equivalent in sugar cubes.
According to PHE the maximum daily amounts of added sugar for children are:
The PHE sugar awareness campaign will also feature television, digital and outdoor advertising.