British Youngsters with a £280 a year sweets and fizzy drinks habit

Youngsters with a £280 a year sweets and fizzy drinks habit

Extracts:

1) "British children spend nearly £280 a year each on sweets and fizzy drinks and have the worst eating habits in Europe, a survey reveals today.
The figures go a long way to explaining the obesity epidemic, with children as young as five spending more than £100 a year on sweets and the same on fizzy drinks. The information comes from market analysts Datamonitor, which says that snacking has never been easier."

2) "The report says that one British child in three is overweight."

Salty food causes fluid retention in children and that of course results in obesity. -The obesity in turn creates a need for more food/calories because of having to carry around and service a body of greater weight. The need for more food, and especially for more calories, is probably the main reason for the high sweets and sugary drinks consumption the British children favour.

In the countries cited as having lower spending by children on sweets and soft drinks, children are fed less on convenience/processed meals so have a lower salt intake and therefore are less obese and have smaller calorie requirements, resulting in lower sugar/sweet consumption.

The facts are that child obesity is caused by high salt consumption and not by high energy consumption or by inactivity.

Children's meals need to be low in salt.

See children and salt