HAMPSHIRE County Council is encouraging parents and carers to become “sugar smart” and use Change4Life’s new sugar app to help reduce the amount of calories their children eat and drink.

The campaign highlights that four to 10-year-olds consume an estimated 5,500 sugar cubes a year (22kg), weighing the same as an average five-year-old child.

In Hampshire, one-in-five children entering school is overweight or obese, and by the age of 10 to 11 it rises to almost one in three.

Councillor Patricia Stallard, Hampshire County Council’s member for health said: “It’s surprising how much sugar there is in the food and drink we give our children and it can be difficult to know how much sugar we and our families really consume.

“Statistics show our children are consuming three times more sugar than the recommended maximum daily amount – the biggest source is sugary drinks – so it’s really important to help parents and carers see exactly where the sugar in their children’s diet is coming from, so they can choose how to cut down.”

Search Change4Life’s Sugar Swap campaign to find out how to reduce sugar intake.

The Sugar Smart app is also available for free to download from iTunes or Google Play.

The recommended sugar guidelines for children are:

Children aged four to six years old should not have more than 19g of added sugar per day – five cubes (based on cubes weighing 4g each.

Children aged seven to 10 years old should have no more than 24g per day – or six cubes

From 11 years up, children should have no more than 30g per day – seven cubes

No more than five per cent of people’s daily energy intake should come from sugar.

That is a halving of the old recommendation.

The campaign has been launched amid reports that Prime Minister David Cameron has had a change of heart over calls to add a sugar tax to the cost of fizzy drinks – having reportedly ruled out the prposal after last year’s election win by the Tories.