Children consume their body weight in sugar each year

The Change4Life campaign follows revelations that four-to-10 year olds consume an estimated 5,500 sugar cubes a year (22kg), weighing the same as an average five-year-old.

Five-year-olds eat and drink their own body weight in sugar every year, reveals shock new research.

It warns that obesity and tooth decay are among the consequences of children consuming three times as much of the substance as they should.

Singer and TV presenter Jamelia is supporting the campaign and starring in a series of Sugar Smart films from January.

The campaign, backed by Public Health England (PHE), has created a new app that allows parents to scan the barcode of products to find out how much sugar it contains.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist for Public Health England, said: “Children are having too much sugar”. The BBC reported that in 2013 nearly a third of five year olds and nearly half of eight year olds had tooth decay, the most common reason for five to nine year olds being admitted into hospital. “This can lead to painful tooth decay, weight gain and obesity”.

“It’s so important to take control of the amount of sugar our kids are eating and act now”.

Five million “Sugar smart” packs will be distributed to primary school age children and a national roadshow is planned.

Professor Russell Viner from Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the Government should introduce a 20 per cent sugar tax on soft drinks.

The app says there are over 20 cubes of sugar in a bottle of ketchup.

Supermarkets such as Tesco, ASDA Morrisons and the Co-operative Food have all signed up alongside manufacturers including Weetabix and Flora. “I’d recommend all parents download the Sugar Smart app to uncover sugar that’s in their everyday food and drink to make healthier choices when food shopping”.

Obesity costs the NHS £5.1bn a year, but it is a figure projected to nearly double by 2050. The app will help parents learn where the sugar in their children’s diet is from and inform them on what products to cut down.

The app can reveal the number of 4 g sugar cubes in more than 75,000 everyday food or drink products, said PHE, which gave examples including six cubes in a bar of chocolate and five cubes in a pouch of juice drink.