How you can help

h Act soon by “engaging with health visitors and parenting support services”, says Dr Davie. “It needs to be tackled from early years.” He recommends the Henry scheme (henry.org.uk) for

advice about diet for younger children; see also Bite Back’s Cook with Jack series (biteback2030.com)

h Think twice before using

food as a reward or “behaviour management”. According to Davie “it will

not only increase the consumption of those foods, but also associate them with positivity and pleasure. It’s

better to give positive attention when the child is

doing the right thing.”

h Make sure children get enough sleep, which may mean banning screens an hour before bed. “The less you sleep, the bigger your appetite for sweet or fatty foods,” says Davie. “So you will gain weight and then not sleep as well, because people who are obese sleep worse.”

h Ask your children’s school what their policy is on food brought in for break time or in lunchboxes. If they have one but don’t enforce it, put pressure on them to make

the rules meaningful

h Pre-school children should have a mid-morning and mid-afternoon top-up, says Judy More, and older children need something

nourishing when they come in from school – nuts, yogurt, veg sticks and dips

h Cut out sugary drinks, which make up as much as 30 per cent of children’s sugar intake. Juices and bottled smoothies contain as much easily-absorbed sugar as most fizzy drinks, so limit

them to once a day