Sugar Intake Increases By 500% Over Summer

The summer holidays are soon approaching, which means most parents will be worrying about childcare plans, frantically searching for au pair vacancies, and looking for activities to entertain their kids with for six weeks.

However, they should also be concerned about their youngsters’ diets over the summer break, after a report found children consume five times as much sugar during the holidays compared with any other time of the year.

Mydentist commissioned a survey of 1,000 parents with kids aged between two and 17, asking them what their little ones ate and drank during the warmer days. The biggest culprit in boosting sugar intake in summertime was sweet drinks and ice-cream.

Nyree Whitely, group clinical director of mydentist, said: “After a long period of increased sugar intake, the summer holidays are one of the most vital times of year to book a check-up for your children.”

According to the poll, 80 per cent of mothers and fathers worry about the increased sugar intake during the summer holidays, but only one in ten give their kids more vegetables when not at school.

What’s more, as children are not in a steady routine, oral hygiene can be neglected as many forget to brush their teeth, and four-tenths of parents fail to check whether their child has done so or not.

Eating healthily is not just crucial for avoiding tooth decay, but also to curb childhood obesity.

The government recently announced its plans to halve the number of obese children in the UK by 2030 through a programme of promoting fitness and activity in schools and restricting access to unhealthy snacks.