By PETER STEBBINGS

Last updated at 21:04 06 May 2007

Foods with a traditionally healthy appeal have up to twice the amount of sugar in them compared to 30 years ago.

Breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread and soups are chief among those foods which are significantly sweeter than they were only three decades ago.

European Union trade reforms leading to a reduction in the price of sugar and an increasing demand for sweeter products are being blamed for what health experts say is a worrying trend.

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They say the increased sugar in our diets will lead to higher levels of tooth decay and result in more people than ever before becoming diabetic.

Scientists have also said increased sugar levels are a major reason for soaring obesity rates in the UK, particularly when it comes to sugar-thirsty children.

While the Government and health watchdogs have focused on encouraging people and food companies to cut down on the amount of salt the nation consumes, sugar levels have gone up almost unchecked by comparison.

McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, an industry handbook on the nutritional value of foods, has blown the debate about sugar in our food wide open.

A cursory glance at its 1978 and 2002 editions suggests many foods previously thought of as being healthy and largely sugar-free are now anything but.

In 1978 Kellogg's Special K had 9.6g of sugar per 100g. That figure has since doubled to 17g per 100g.

In crude terms it means the breakfast cereal now has almost as much sugar in it as vanilla ice-cream.

Wholemeal bread getting sweeter



Wholemeal bread is also surprisingly high in sugar - and getting sweeter.

In 1978 a typical wholemeal loaf contained on average 2.1g of sugar per 100g. By 2002 that figure had risen to 2.8g, effectively ending the myth that wholemeal bread is a healthy choice.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) wants food companies to reduce the amount of sugar in their products and is so worried about the trend that it is considering imposing legal limits.

The FSA two years ago launched a campaign to cut down salt, but one apparent spin-off of that has been companies putting in more sugar to make up for the lower salt levels.

Ian Tokelove, spokesman for the Food Commission, which campaigns for healthier food, warned: 'Most of us are eating too much sugar, but we are being swamped with it in our food.

'We naturally have a sweet tooth and manufacturers have been quick to use that to try to increase sales in a crowded marketplace.

'It's cheap to use and it's been one of the first things to be added when companies want to make a product a bit different.'

Processed foods, which generally have higher sugar levels, are routinely blamed for much of the extra sugar in our diets.

But even fruit and vegetables on sale in the UK are sweeter now than they used to be, with supermarkets selecting sweeter products because they are more attractive to reluctant fruit and vegetable eaters.

An article in the British Medical Journal in 2005 claimed: 'Sugar is as dangerous as tobacco and, in terms of world health, far more important.'

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is among the companies looking at the products it sells to see if it can reduce sugar and salt levels.