The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) report recommended a significant cut to the amount of sugars people consume as part of their daily calorie intake - halved from 10% to 5%.
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said: “One-fifth of 10 to 11 year olds are obese and almost two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese and sugary drinks are a major contributor. There is nothing good about a sugary drink, particularly if you are under the age of 11, and we must work together to find ways to wean ourselves from the sugar habit.”
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: “We’re asking parents to take a big step to establish a lifetime of healthy eating habits for their children by replacing sugary drinks with sugar free and no added sugar drinks, lower fat milks or water.
“Sugary drinks have no place in a child’s daily diet, but account for almost a third of their daily sugar intake. Too much sugar leads to excess calorie intake, weight gain and obesity, itself leading to heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes in adults.
“But individual action is just part of the solution. We’re finalizing a review of wider factors that influence how much sugar we consume, from marketing and promotions to reformulation and fiscal measures, so we can look at what we can all do to help the country lead healthier lives.”
The government’s childhood obesity prevention campaign, Change4Life, has also updated its advice for families by advising only one 150 mililitre serving of fruit juice or smoothie per day, with a meal, as part of their 5-a-day because of the high levels of sugar they contain.
SACN’s findings are the first wide ranging look at the relationship between sugar consumption and health outcomes in the UK since the 1990s. The report found consuming sugary drinks is leading to unhealthy weight gain in children and young people. For children, too much sugar is linked with a greater risk of tooth decay. In adults, it leads to them consuming too many calories.
PHE has embarked on a review of possible measures to reduce sugar consumption, including reformulation, marketing and promotions of high-sugar food and drink, and fiscal measures, looking at the impact they could have.
The government has now asked PHE to use the evidence from this review to advise on actions it could take to lower sugar consumption, informing its wider obesity and diabetes strategy. PHE is finalizing this evidence review and will publish it later this summer.