Only 5% of children's yoghurts contain 'healthy' sugar levels - and the worst-offender is just as bad as FIVE chocolate digestive biscuits

 Just one in 20 yoghurts aimed at children have healthy levels of sugar, campaigners have warned.

And the worst offender has five-and-a-half teaspoons of sugar per pot — as much as 16 malted milk biscuits or five chocolate digestives.

Healthy eating experts say claims about calcium and vitamin D levels on sugar-laden yoghurts 'distract parents from scrutinising nutrition labels'.

They are now urging the Government to impose tougher restrictions in an attempt to stop 'misleading' parents into buying the items for their children.

And they want a 'complete ban' on using child-friendly packaging on yoghurts which have medium or high sugar levels.

Campaign group Action for Sugar looked at the nutritional information of 100 of the country's most popular children's yoghurts.

They were targeted at youngsters through bright packaging and cartoon characters, the researchers said.

Dietitians warn giving children sugary yoghurts can get them 'hooked on the sweet stuff for life'.

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One in three children leaves primary school overweight, and obesity-related illnesses cost the NHS around £6billion a year.

The NHS recommends that children aged four to six eat no more than 19g of added sugars a day. And those aged between seven and 10 should not have more than 24g per day, the guidelines state. 

Added sugars include the syrups and fruit concentrates piled into popular yoghurts. 

The charity, which is based at Queen Mary University of London, found Nestlé's Rolo Mix-in Toffee yoghurt was the worst offender. It contained 20.6g of sugar per 100g. 

For comparison, a McVitie's Chocolate Digestive biscuit has around 4.8g of sugar.

Nestlé's Smarties vanilla yoghurt (13.8g), two Yoplait fruit yoghurts (13.3g and 13.2g) and Lidl's Milbona raspberry yoghurt (12.5g) rounded up the top five. Popular child-friendly brands, such as Frubes and Munch Bunch, were also among those with high sugar contents.

Meanwhile, just five options had healthy sugar levels — defined as fewer than 5g per every 100g.

This included two Petits Filous no-added sugar options (4.9g and 4.8g) and two Nush almond milk yoghurts (5g and 2.2g).

Is your plant-based BBQ REALLY healthier than a meat one? Vegetarian and vegan alternatives of sausages, burgers and kebabs can contain up to 10 TIMES more sugar 

Vegetarian and vegan equivalents of the country's favourite BBQ foods can contain up to 10 times more sugar, MailOnline revealed this week.

And the worst-offending meat-free alternatives — which are often bandied as healthier compared to traditional staples — are up to six times saltier.

Dietary experts warned meat-replacement items should not automatically be perceived as being 'healthier' just because they contain no red meat. 

But they admitted that higher sugar and salt levels may not necessarily be worse because many veggie options have fewer calories, less fat and more fibre.

Our analysis delved into the nutritional benefits of a selection of BBQ favourites, including sausages and burgers, as well as kebabs, bacon and meatballs.

Per 100g of vegetarian chilli and lime kebabs made by Wicked Kitchen, there is 2g of sugar, compared to just 0.2g for the same amount of Morrisons' lamb kebabs.

And Two Birds Eye meat-free sausages contain 2.2g of sugar, compared to just 0.5g in two pork sausages sold at Tesco.  

For burgers, there is less than 0.5g of sugar in the meat options sold at Sainsbury's and Waitrose.

But the vegetarian alternatives by Linda McCartney (0.9g), Heck (1.4g) and Morrisons (2.1g) have up to four times as much sugar.

Meanwhile, a plant-based steak by Vivera — which is sold at supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Asda — has 2.4g of sugar per 200g, while a ribeye steak on offer at Sainsbury's has less than 0.5g.  

Two rashers of THIS' veggie bacon (0.3g) contain three times more sugar, compared to Tesco's pork option (0.1g). 

And Linda McCartney's vegetarian meatballs (2.3g) have up to five times more than Asda's beef meatballs (less than 0.5g).  

Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at the University of Reading told MailOnline: 'I think one difficulty for many meat replacement products is that it is difficult to mimic the taste of the original product. 

'I assume this is one reason for introducing more salt or sugar.'

He said from a health point of view, a vegetarian product that has 10 times more sugar than a meat product 'won't matter too much for most people' if the calories in the foods are similar.

'Higher salt content could have an impact on blood pressure and cardio-vascular diseases risk — but only if it is really high and would get someone easily over the daily recommendation,' he said.

Professor Kuhnle added: 'In general, I think there is a problem in the perception of foods being 'healthier' just because they contain no meat. 

'Meat is neither healthy nor unhealthy. It's just a type of food that can provide energy and some essential nutrients (especially vitamin B12 and iron), but more importantly, that's enjoyed by many people.

'As with most other foods, consuming too much can have an adverse effect on health — in the case of meat increased risk of cancer and potentially heart diseases.' 

A Coconut Collaborative mango and passionfruit yoghurt also had healthy levels of sugar (4.6g), the analysis found. 

Overall, 63 per cent of the yoghurt pots included one third or more of a four to six-year-old's maximum daily intake for added sugars. 

Additionally, the yoghurts' packaging often includes claims about calcium, vitamin D and being high in protein, Action for Sugar said.

This creates a 'distorted 'health halo' suggesting the products are completely healthy with only sugars from natural sources such as lactose from milk, the charity said. 

Researchers noted the average fat content in three quarters of the yoghurt were healthy.

But two-thirds contained higher levels of saturated fats, which contribute to poor heart health.  

Dr Kawther Hashem, nutritionist and campaign lead at Action on Sugar, said companies try to avert parents' eyes from seeing the 'significant amount' of sugar on their nutrition labels by using 'health sounding claims and cartoony images'.

She said: 'Parents can easily be misled when walking through the yogurt aisle in the supermarket.

'Given only 5 per cent of yogurts with child friendly packaging would have a green coloured label as being 'healthy' for sugar, food companies must make every effort to reduce the sugar in these products, particularly the ones targeted so explicitly towards children.'

Katharine Jenner, campaign director at Action on Sugar said: 'Clever marketing techniques such as advertising, promotions and packaging are powerful tools to get children hooked on the sweet stuff from a young age and for life. 

'Whilst the Government's Obesity Strategy is taking bold steps to tackle unhealthy advertising and promotions, they now need to ensure food companies only use cartoons and health halo statements on their healthier products, allowing parents to see more of what is good for their children.'

Professor Graham MacGregor CBE, chairman of Action on Sugar and an expert in cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary's said: 'It is imperative that food companies act more responsibly and commit to reformulate sugar, salt and calorie reduction instead of foisting unhealthy products on us that contain child friendly packaging with misleading nutrition and health claims.'

Charlotte Stirling-Reed, a registered child nutritionist, told MailOnline the figures are a shame and disappointing, but 'not really shocking'. 

She said: 'Many brands are making an effort to reduce sugar in their foods and the Government has been asking brands which supply food to young children to do the same.

'It would be good to see levels of sugars in children's yogurts heavily reduced across the board. 

'Ideally we want to see food products for babies & young children fitting into the 'low sugar' category.

'When I'm advising parents, I'd always generally recommend offering babies and young children plain yogurts, with no added sugar as much as possible to help keep levels of free sugars as low as possible.

'Also once sugary yogurts are introduced, children can often prefer these and reject plain yogurts, so it's best to focus on plain varieties for as long as possible.' 

Julia Wolman, a registered nutritionist specialising in family and children healthy eating, told MailOnline: 'It's quite shocking, though unsurprising really, that so many yogurts aimed at children still contain added sugars.

'Yogurt is one of those products that's always going to have some sugar present, especially dairy yogurts, because of the lactose which is a natural sugar found in milk. 

'But when artificial sugars are added the yogurts taste super sweet and delicious - coupled with on-pack health messages its easy to see why parents would keep on buying them.

'The problem is that when children become accustomed to liking sweet foods this taste preference can stay with them throughout their child, teen and adult lives. 

'Whilst foods high in sugar are fine in moderation, consuming too many can, over time, contribute to excess weight gain which can increase the risk of diet-related diseases.

'Ideally we want children to get used to the taste of lower sugar yogurts in their early years. 

'A snack or dessert of natural yogurt with pureed, mashed or chopped fruit would be the gold standard in my opinion.

'It would be great to see more brands replicate this type of no-added sugar recipe alongside their on-pack cartoon characters and health claims.' 

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Childhood obesity is one of the biggest health challenges that this country is facing and we are taking significant action to drive the food and drink industry to reduce sugar content.

'There is more to do and later this year we will be launching a consultation into infant food marketing and labelling as part of our efforts to arm parents with the very best information.

'We are also restricting the advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, changing the law to reduce promotions of less healthy food and implementing calorie labelling in large restaurants, cafes and takeaways.'

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

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Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count

• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain

• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on

• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options

• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts

• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day

• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide