{"id":8114,"date":"2026-04-21T13:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8114"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:36:09","slug":"outrage-as-nhs-tells-parents-in-uks-fattest-area-to-wean-babies-onto-crisps-chocolate-buttons-and-prawn-crackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8114","title":{"rendered":"Outrage as NHS tells parents in UK’s fattest area to wean babies onto crisps, chocolate buttons and prawn crackers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Parents living in the fattest region in England have been told to wean their babies on to solid foods with biscuits, crisps and chocolate – despite government officials claiming they’re doing everything they can to fight the childhood obesity epidemic.<\/p>\n

Advice shared by\u00a0NHS<\/a>\u00a0Gateshead Health claimed that these foods ‘dissolve in the mouth’ making them a ‘great middle step for children who are struggling to accept lumps in food’.<\/p>\n

The online advice – which was removed after the Daily Mail approached the NHS trust for comment – also lists sugar-laden\u00a0Cadbury<\/a>‘s chocolate buttons, prawn crackers and Pom Bear Crisps as ‘great’ foods to try.<\/p>\n

Also on the list are sponge finger biscuits, ice cream wafers and Wotsits.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

On further investigation, it was revealed that Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children also lists Wotsits, Skips, Quavers, Pom Bears and pink wafer biscuits as good ‘bite and dissolve foods’ to help children learn to chew, before listing organic alternatives.<\/p>\n

Leading epidemiologist and public health advisor Dr Dolly van Tulleken from the University of Cambridge<\/a>\u00a0is demanding to know how the NHS can getaway with such damaging claims.<\/p>\n

She told the Daily Mail: ‘You don\u2019t have to be an expert or nutritionist to know these are sugary, highly processed foods that have no nutritional value.’<\/p>\n

Children aged one and under should have no more than 1g of salt a day, according to the NHS, because their kidneys are not fully developed and cannot process it.<\/p>\n

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NHS Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust’s website, listing snacks packed full of sugar and salt as ‘great middle step’ foods for children<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, a single serving of Wotsits contains nearly 50 per cent of their daily allowance.<\/p>\n

Latest figures show nearly a quarter of 10 and 11-year olds in Gateshead are obese – well above the worrying national average of 19 per cent.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Health Minister Sharon Hodgson – who is also the Labour MP for Gateshead – spoke out about the importance of nutritious meals for children as the Government plans to overhaul the school food stands for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n

She said: ‘Children are consuming twice the recommended amount of free sugar and offering more nutritious meals at school is a great way of ensuring they eat healthier food.<\/p>\n

‘We’re determined to reduce the child obesity epidemic and the new school food standards represent another piece in a jigsaw of measures designed to help raise the healthiest generation of children ever.’<\/p>\n

The move will see over 500 new free breakfast clubs open their doors this month, offering places up to 142,000 children.<\/p>\n

And under the plans, schools will no longer be able to offer unhealthy grab and go options like pizza every day, while deep fried food will be banned completely.<\/p>\n

Fruit will also be served instead of sugar-laden snacks the majority of the school week.<\/p>\n

But experts say this does not go far enough if we are starting children on ’empty’ calories from their very first bites.<\/p>\n