A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades.

According to a study, jointly conducted by Action on Sugar and Consensus Action on Salt and Health, or CASH, and published on Wednesday, the sugar content in some cereals is as high as 35 per cent of the total product—unchanged from levels seen back in 1992 even though numerous studies have linked high sugar to health issues. Salt content, by contrast, has been cut by approximately 50 per cent over the past 12 years, according to research in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Sugar quotas in breakfast cereals are a particular concern because high levels have been linked to obesity and diseases like type 2 diabetes. According to CASH, a typical 30g serving of some cereals contains a third of the recommended daily allowance of sugar for a six-year-old, which is 19g or five teaspoons.

“There has been no national sugar reduction programme, as there has been for salt, which is imperative if we want to see real and measurable improvements,” says Kawther Hashem, a registered nutritionist who works for Action on Sugar at Queen Mary University in London.

Public Health England is due to announce a national sugar reduction programme, as part of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan, in March, according to Ms Hashem.

The salt-reduction programme, launched in 2015 by the Food Standard Agency and CASH, has already proved effective, but Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of CASH says that more still has to be done in relation to salt levels too. He said that salt remains far too high in cereals.

The amounts of sugar in food and drink Show all 6 1 /6 The amounts of sugar in food and drink The amounts of sugar in food and drink Minstrels A 42g bag contains 28.9g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Dairy Milk A 49g bar contains 26.8g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Skittles 45g of Skittles (about a quarter of a large 174g pouch) contains 40.4g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Ribena A 500ml bottle of Blackcurrant Ribena contains 23g of sugar, down from 50g/500ml after it was reformulated to avoid the government's tax on sugary drinks The amounts of sugar in food and drink Coca Cola A 330ml can of Coca Cola contains 35g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Innocent Smoothies A 250ml bottle of strawberries & bananas Innocent Smoothie (the middle size) contains 26g of sugar

“Reducing salt is the most cost effective measure to lower blood pressure and reduce the number of people suffering from strokes and heart disease – one of the commonest causes of death in the UK,” he said.