Almost a fifth of Tyrone pre-school children’s daily diet is unhealthy treat foods

The research also found that a child’s daily calorie intake from unhealthy treat foods increased as they get older with a quarter (25%) of local primary school children’s daily diet consisting of treats that are high in fat, sugar, and salt.

Currently a quarter of children aged 2-15 years in Northern Ireland are reported to be overweight (20%) or obese (6%), with the study showing that treat foods like biscuits, chocolate, soft drinks, and savoury snacks contributed significantly to the total intakes of saturated fat and added sugar among children.

The research which was conducted in May 2022 as part of the START campaign from safefood, the Public Health Agency and the Department of Health to understand the role of snacking and treat foods in children’s lives.

The START campaign, with the support of Northern Ireland Senior Women's International Captain, Marissa Callaghan, is encouraging parents to take steps towards healthier family habits by reducing the amount of treats they give their children and to give healthier snacks when children are hungry.

Dr Aileen McGloin, Director of Nutrition with safefood said: “We know that snacks play an important role in children’s diets, particularly so for younger children. However, this research shows that children are getting too many snacks from unhealthy foods like biscuits, crisps, chocolate, and sweets. We want to support parents to rethink their children’s snacks, both in terms of what they buy and what they give.”

Senior Women's International Captain, Marissa Callaghan, said: “I’m delighted to be supporting the START campaign as I believe it helps provide parents with practical ways of helping us reduce the number of treats we give our children. It’s not about trying to be perfect; it’s about giving us the necessary advice to make better choices and to introduce healthier options to get that right balance for the whole family.

The START campaign aims to support parents and guardians to talk to children about reducing treats as a family and minimise intake of foods high in fat, salt and sugar. Visit https://www.safefood.net/start for practical advice and support on how to reduce treats, ideas for healthy snacks and advice from parenting experts.