Blackburn bids to become Lancashire’s first Sugar Smart town

Blackburn has pledged to become Lancashire’s first Sugar Smart town by campaigning to cut the amount of sugar residents consume.

The initiative aims to support schools, hospitals, businesses and other organisations that serve, sell or can promote better food and drink choices – to help local residents to improve their health.

The campaign is also supported by Blackburn Rovers Football Club, Blackburn College and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Blackburn with Darwen now has the highest percentage of five year olds with tooth decay in England, with 51% having at least one decayed, missing or filled tooth.

Other health issues including obesity and diabetes are associated with high sugar diets, and the borough is taking a stand to support its residents by making it easier to access healthy options.

Councillor Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children, Young People & Education, explained:

This campaign is an important part of our Oral Health Strategy for the borough.

We want to tackle our problem with sugar by encouraging and supporting organisations and businesses to provide healthier choices for customers, staff or visitors when it comes to sugar.

Simple ideas like having a water fountain available or providing clear labelling detailing the sugar content of food can make a big difference in guiding people’s choices.

The Council is working with dental nurses to support the messages in schools and we want to make it easy for parents to reinforce those healthier choices when they are out and about in Blackburn.

Gary Robinson, chief executive of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, added:

We are delighted to be supporting this initiative and are working with our catering partner to look at ways we can provide lower sugar choices.

We work extensively across the town supporting children and their families and will be engaging with them to raise awareness of our SUGAR SMART pledge. It’s a natural fit as the club spends a lot of time assessing the nutrition and diet of our elite footballers to ensure they are performing at the highest level. We want to inspire the next generation of athletes to look after their bodies – and teeth!

There’s lots of information on ways to reduce sugar in your diet and the high-sugar foods to watch out for at on the NHS Healthier Families website.

And the online sugar calculator can help you add up how much sugar you’re eating in a day – and compare it to the recommended daily amount.

To make a pledge to cut down on the sweet stuff and join the Sugar Smart campaign visit: Sugar Smart – Be Well BWD