Children's Nutrition Action Plan - The Food Commission

Professor Aubrey Sheiham
Action and Information on Sugars
Sugars and oral health
Sugar is the litmus test of how the food industry works. If we are to challenge the current
food culture, we must be much more sophisticated – both politically and scientifically – in
our arguments and campaign work to improve children’s nutrition.
In the Eurodiet debate, the food industry was represented by, among others, professors
funded by the food industry, who helped to change the official dietary recommendations on
sugar. The claim was that if children ate less sugar they would eat more fat, the so-called
fat/sugar seesaw which has little scientific validity.
One of our strongest arguments for reducing consumption of sugars is that if children eat high
levels of sugary foods, they will eat fewer vitamins and minerals. The effect will be nutrient
dilution.
The relationship between sugars and dental health is one of the strongest relationships for any
nutrient and disease. The approach we should adopt is one common to food and health policy:
intervening at different points in the food chain. For example, changing the sugar supply in
children’s diets by formulating dietary guidelines for nurseries, schools, and for those in care,
as has been done by the Caroline Walker Trust. This might mean giving less sugar to cooks in
schools, which would lead to less sugar in the children’s diets, leading to less tooth decay.
The positive effects of this approach have been shown in nurseries in Brazil. This kind of
intervention could also be introduced in schools in the Health Promoting Schools scheme –
incorporating nutrition into the criteria used to judge schools with progressive health policies.
References
• Caroline Walker Trust (1995) Eating well for older people. London: CWT.
• Caroline Walker Trust (1998) Eating well for under-5s in childcare. London: CWT.
• Caroline Walker Trust (2001) Eating well for looked-after children and young people. London: CWT.
• Rodrigues, C. S.; Watt, R. G.; Sheiham, A. Effects of dietary guidelines on sugar intake and dental caries in
3-year olds attending nurseries in Brazil. Health Promotion International 1999:14; 329-335.
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London Medical School,
1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT.
The Children’s Nutrition Action Plan, published by The Food Commission
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