PARENTS are being urged to control their children’s sugar intake as figures show some 15 per cent of Year 6 youngsters in Dorset are obese.

In Poole, 17 per cent of Year 6 pupils are obese, compared with 15.4 per cent in Bournemouth and 14.2 per cent in Dorset, according to figures from Public Health England (PHE).

Reception age children are also getting fatter with 9.5 per cent obese in Bournemouth, 9.2 per cent in Dorset and 8.1 per cent in Poole.

PHE’s Change4Life campaign seeks to convince parents to reduce the amount of sugary food and drink consumed by children, and a new app has been launched - Sugar Smart - to reveal how much sugar is contained in every day food and drink.

Kevin Ellison, deputy director of health and wellbeing for PHE South West, said: “The latest child obesity figures for the South West highlight the importance for families to cut back on sugar in the diet.

“Sugar is lurking in everyday food and drink, taking children well over the maximum recommended amount.”

The figures have been released by local authorities and are based on clinical measures determining whether children are overweight or obese.

For reception age children, 23.3 per cent in Dorset, 21.2 per cent in Bournemouth and 20.8 per cent in Poole were either obese or overweight, while the figures for Year 6 children were 29.8 per cent in Poole, 29.6 per cent in Bournemouth and 27.7 per cent in Dorset.

Overweight children are more likely to suffer tooth decay and self-esteem problems, and to become obese adults prone to serious health problems including heart disease, some cancers and Type 2 diabetes.

The Sugar Smart works by scanning the barcode of products and revealing the amount of sugar it contains in cubes and grams.

The campaign reveals the sugar content of everyday food and drink: a 43g chocolate bar contains six cubes of sugar, a 200ml juice drink contains over five cubes and there are nine sugar cubes in a can of cola, instantly taking children up to or over their daily maximum.