London,
19
September
2017
|
14:19
Europe/London

Survey launched to find out how ‘sugar smart’ people are in Hackney

Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Devolution, Hackney Council
Overconsumption of sugar in Hackney is a major cause of the high levels of obesity and so it is vitally important we help people to reduce their intake of sugar.  The residents survey on sugar will help us understand how best to do this.
Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Devolution, Hackney Council

Residents in Hackney are being asked to ‘tell all’ about their sugar habits with the launch of a survey this week to find out how ‘sugar smart’ they really are and how they can be best supported to reduce their sugar intake to improve their health.

Everyone who completes the survey by 30 October has the chance to win a selection of prizes which includes tickets to this year’s pantomime at the Hackney Empire, free recipe kits from Make Kits, a free brunch at E5 BakeHouse, chef’s apron from Made in Hackney, organic veg box from Growing Communities and tickets for Hackney Picture House.

Hackney Council and Hackney Food Partnership have organised the survey and the results will be used to help shape a campaign later this year to tell people about the health risks of excessive sugar consumption and to find ways of reducing the amount of sugary foods and drinks that are sold and consumed in the borough.

Eating too much sugar means people are consuming more calories than they need and this in turn can lead to obesity and diabetes. On average adults in the UK eat more than double the recommended amount of 7 tsp (30g) of sugar a day. Children, teenagers and those on low incomes eat the most, with children and teenagers on average eating three times the daily recommended amount; the daily recommended amount for 4 to 10 year-olds is 5 tsp (19g) and 7 tsp (30g) for those aged 11+.

Kathryn Packer, Founder Member of Hackney Food Partnership said: “We consume much too much sugar than is good for us. This is because sugary food and drink is available everywhere, cheap to buy and heavily advertised and marketed, particularly to children. Hackney’s sugar survey will allow us to know what the people of Hackney think about sugar and what needs to be done to help reduce its excessive consumption in the borough.”

The Hackney sugar survey is available online at https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/public-health/sugar-smart-hackney-residents-survey.

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Follow #SugarSmartHackney on Twitter

Hackney Food Partnership

Hackney Food Partnership (HFP) brings together public, private and community groups and individuals to help create a healthier, more sustainable food system by supporting action on food issues throughout the borough. It aim to connect, promote and build on Hackney activities as well as improve food in under-supported sectors.

For more information about Hackney Food Partnership please visit http://sustainablehackney.org.uk/work/hackney-food-partnership or Twitter @hackneyfood

Sugar Smart

SUGAR SMART https://www.sugarsmartuk.org/ is a campaign of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and Sustain. It helps local authorities, organisations, workplaces and individuals to reduce sugar consumption. Anyone can pledge to become SUGAR SMART – from councils and schools to restaurants, hospitals and independent companies. It is also the feature campaign of Sustainable Food Cities until mid-2018. A total of 16 grants were given in 2017 to local food partnerships to support them in fully taking part in the SUGAR SMART campaign

For more information about Sustainable Food Cities visit www.sustainablefoodcities.org or on Twitter follow: @foodcities