Actress Lisa Faulkner used her visibility to deliver an important message to parents.
This Celebrity MasterChef winner and mum was dismayed to discover that half of children's sugar intake – about seven sugar cubes a day – comes from unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks. Children are consuming three or four unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks a day on average.
Exceeding the recommended daily maximum of five cubes for four to six year olds and six cubes for seven to 10-year-olds can mean fuelling obesity and dental decay.
"I know how easy it can be to give your children snacks based on convenience, but many of them may be packed full of sugar," says Lisa.
To makes the task easy for parents, she advises to 'look for 100 calorie snacks, two-a-day max. Healthy options are plentiful, for example vegetable sticks with low-fat hummus or fruit kebabs.
Experts agree that as more and more overweight children become overweight adults, we'll see a surge of diseases associated with obesity, such as heart disease, cancer, and especially diabetes. It's our responsibility as parents to stop the vicious cycle and help educate the next generation about healthier eating habits.