Why not make your New Years Resolution for you and your family to eat less sugar by taking part in the Change 4 Life Sugar Swaps campaign. The Sugar Swaps campaign is about making small changes to the way that we eat that can reduce the sugar that families eat.

It’s surprising how much sugar there is in some of the things we give our children throughout the day, from the cereal they have for breakfast, to the snacks they have after school, the drinks they have during the day and the puddings after a meal. Many people have no idea how much sugar they and their family really consume because it’s in so many things. We could all do with cutting a little sugar out of our diets and helping our kids to do the same.

Change 4 Life recommends 4 simple sugar swaps for families to choose from, tackling different ‘sugar occasions’ in the day:

1. The breakfast swap: sugary cereal for plain cereal, like a wholewheat biscuit cereal
2. The drink swap: from sugary drinks to sugar-free or no-added-sugar drinks
3. The after school swap: for example from muffin to fruited teacake
4. The pudding swap: for example from ice cream to low-fat lower-sugar yoghurt

Eating and drinking too much sugar means extra calories, which causes fat to build up inside the body. This can lead to heart disease, some cancers or type 2 diabetes later in life. So why not get involved in Sugar Swaps and make some small changes that can have very beneficial effects on your family’s health.

If you register for the campaign you get a FREE sugar swaps pack which is filled with hints, tips and recipe suggestions designed to help parents cut down the sugary foods and drinks consumed by their children, plus money-off vouchers, swap cards and stickers. To sign up, families just need to click on the links below.

• sugarswaps.change4life.co.uk/
• www.nhs.uk/change4life

For more healthy eating advice go to the Live It Well Healthy Eating pages.