Britons are drinking fewer sugary, fizzy drinks, following a Change4Life campaign back in January. Figures published this month by Public Health England (PHE) revealed that purchases of calorie-laden fizzy drinks fell by more than eight per cent following the Change4Life Smart Swaps campaign, which encouraged people to exchange sugary drinks for sugar-free alternatives like water and no added sugar squash. What’s more, the change has been sustained, with fizzy drink sales down by over five per cent on average between January and May 2014.

The finding follows calls from dietitians for children to be given water instead of fruit juice in a bid to prevent obesity. It is recommended that sugar makes up no more than 11 per cent of an individual’s daily calorie intake. However, the latest figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show that sugar comprises 11.9 per cent of daily calories for children aged 18 months to three years, 14.7 per cent for four to 10-year-olds and 15.6 per cent for those aged 11 plus.