Do you know how much sugar is in your Easter egg?

easter eggs
Dental experts are calling for Easter eggs to be included in the sugar tax

Some Easter eggs contain 10 times the recommended daily sugar intake for children, a new study has shown.

Dental experts are now calling for Easter eggs to be subject to a sugar tax, after the study found that most Easter eggs contain more than the recommended daily sugar intake for children, with some large eggs containing two weeks’ worth of sugar.

‘A sugar tax on sugary drinks is a step in the right direction but is it enough?’ John Mantel, one of the principal dentists at 32Whites, said.

‘More emphasis has to be placed on education and parental control.

‘Easter eggs are estimated to be worth more than £200 million each year in the UK alone, but the cost to the dental industry is surely more, particularly when you consider that last year saw a 20% rise in the number of children under 10 admitted to hospital with rotting teeth.

‘Easter eggs are just a small piece of the puzzle but the sheer volume of sugar contained in them just shows how accustomed we’ve become to excessive quantities of added sugar to our children’s diet.’

‘Excessive’

‘Supersized’ Easter eggs have become more common on supermarket shelves in recent years, with some containing 48 spoonful’s of sugar.

The popular Cadbury’s Crème Egg alone exceeds the maximum amount of daily sugar intake for both children and adults alike.

‘We know that parents aren’t offering Easter eggs as a healthy treat and it is an annual treat but it’s all about moderation,’ Peter Mantel, another principal dentist at 32Whites, said.

‘The trouble with Easter eggs is that over the years they have become excessive in size with incredibly high levels of sugar; therefore young children are consuming a higher quantity of chocolate in one sitting and that’s a very dangerous habit.

‘If it takes a sugar tax on these products to help matters, we would welcome it.’

 

 

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