Sugar free lollipops too much sugar can make you gain weight and can also cause tooth decay. The type of sugars most adults and children in the UK eat too much of are “free sugars”. Any sugars added to food or drinks. These include sugars in biscuits, chocolate, flavoured yoghurts, breakfast cereals and fizzy drinks.

These sugars may be added at home, or by a chef or other food manufacturer. The sugars in these foods occur naturally but still count as free sugars. Sugar found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables does not count as free sugars. We do not need to cut down on these sugars, but remember that they are included in the “total sugar” figure found on food labels. How much sugar can we eat? There’s no guideline limit for children under the age of 4, but it’s recommended they avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and food with sugar added to it.

Find out more about what to feed young children. Free sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. These are the sugary foods we should cut down on. Sugars also occur naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and milk, but we do not need to cut down on these types of sugars.

Be aware that these are included along with free sugars in the “total sugars” figure that you’ll see on food labels. Find out more about nutrition labels and sugar for help on how to tell the difference. While the amount of sugar in whole and lower-fat milk is the same, choosing lower-fat milk reduces your saturated fat intake. Even unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies are sugary, so limit the amount you have to no more than 150ml a day. If you prefer fizzy drinks, try diluting no-added-sugar squash with sparkling water.

If you take sugar in hot drinks or add sugar to your breakfast cereal, gradually reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether. The NHS Change4Life website has more tips to help you cut back on sugary drinks. Check nutrition labels to help you pick the foods with less added sugar, or go for the reduced- or lower-sugar version. Try reducing the sugar you use in your recipes.