An updated Government app will use barcodes to encourage families to switch to healthier food as part of heightened efforts to tackle Britain’s child obesity crisis.
The new feature, announced on Monday as part of the Better Health campaign, will scan selected shopping items and suggest alternatives with less saturated fat, sugar or salt.
Families using the NHS Food Scanner app will also be shown a “Good Choice” badge for items which could help improve their diet, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
It follows a record rise in obesity among 10 to 11-year-olds, with statistics revealing parents have been giving more unhealthy snacks to their children since the start of the pandemic.
Latest data suggests one in four children of reception school age are overweight or obese and this rises to four in 10 in Year 6, according to the DHSC.
A new survey conducted jointly by the department and Netmums, a UK parenting website, suggests nearly six in 10 parents are feeding their children more sugary or fatty food since coronavirus struck.
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