In a single year, a five-year-old in Britain will eat the equivalent of its own body weight in sugar and advocacy group Public Health England is urging parents to help their children cut back on sugar consumption. The organisation worked out that most five-year-olds eat at least 22kg of sugar a year, equal to their average body weight.Professor of community dentistry at the University of the Western Cape, Sudeshni Naidoo, said the recommended limit for prepubescent children is 15g a day or three teaspoons.Research from several years ago showed that in South Africa the amount of sugar children consumed equalled "an average of 42g or eight teaspoons a day"."The research showed that sugar intake among six-to nine-year-olds ranged from 22g a day in the Eastern Cape to 57g a day in the Western Cape."Countrywide, the average intake in urban areas was 42g and in rural areas 26g. White children consumed significantly more sugar than black children," Naidoo said.This works out to about 15kg a year. The Discovery Health Active Kids Report - a study conducted in 2014 - showed that children may eat as much as 50g a day or 10 teaspoons.The report also found South Africans drink three times the global average of certain soft drinks.It predicted that children born from 2000 onwards would have a shorter life expectancy than their parents because of obesity and a lack of exercise.The World Health Organisation's recommended amount of sugar is 5% of all energy intake.Dietician Lila Bruk said generally children eat too much sugar because sugar is in so many foods."Besides the obvious sweet treats, sugar is found in sauces, ready-made meals and snack foods. It is important that consumers try to prepare their own meals and read food labels carefully to see how much sugar is in food."The Department of Health gazetted draft guidelines in 2014, proposing a ban on junk food and sweet drinks at school tuck shops.The proposed law would prohibit the use of animated characters, celebrities or sports stars being used to advertise food high in sugar and fat or fast food and prohibit advertising of unhealthy food on television during the day.Yolandé van der Riet, director of FTI Consulting Strategic Communications, said the law had not yet been passed as the health department had indicated it was still working through the industry's responses to the proposed guidelines.Further consultation was likely...