NEW advice on children's snacking is being welcomed by Oldham GP Dr Zahid Chauhan.

The new national campaign urges parents and carers to "Look for 100 calorie snacks, two a day max” in a bid to reduce the fat intake of children.

It comes after figures showed that a third of UK children are leaving primary school obese or overweight.

With research showing that over half of five-year-olds in Oldham have tooth decay, Dr Chauhan believes a drastic reduction in sugar is needed to protect dental health in the borough and reduce NHS pressures.

Dr Chauhan said: "The next time you are waiting for hours in A&E or cannot get in at the surgery straightaway, consider that a good deal of time is being spent prescribing pain killers for toothache or even removing children’s damaged teeth because their diet is so sugar-soaked.

“Parents need to take responsibility, follow health guidelines and set a good example.”

Apart from encouraging brushing, flossing and regular dental check-ups, Dr Chauhan backed calls for better labelling on foodstuffs in supermarkets, more regulation on junk food advertising and an outright ban on young people purchasing energy drinks. He continued: “Given that they contain twenty spoonfuls of sugar, these beverages are a quick way to tooth decay and many teachers have spoken about how they send young people hyperactive. The fact that teenagers are using them as a replacement for proper nutritional meals is a frightening thought.

“Replacing snacks with healthy alternatives is a must and recent research by the University of Glasgow has actually called on families to revert back to the days where three nutritious meals and no snacking at all were the norm!

Certainly, cutting down on sugar lowers obesity, shortens the queues at hospitals and surgeries and keeps your teeth nice and healthy. And surely that is something to smile about!”