The high sugar content of Easter eggs is easily forgotten when you’re busy hiding them around the garden for your children.
But the impact on their health isn’t all fun and games.
Even in small quantities, many of the treats exceed a child’s daily sugar allowance with just one serving.
What are the recommended limits?
- The NHS suggests that children aged 7-10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars a day – roughly equivalent to six sugar cubes.
- Younger kids, aged 4-6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day – five sugar cubes.
- Under-4s should avoid all sugar-sweetened drinks and food that contain sugar.
Yet on your child’s Easter egg hunt, they could consume more than 100g of sugar in one sitting.
High sugar content: The biggest culprits
The beloved Lindt chocolate bunny is guilty of a whopping 108g of sugar in total – or almost 28g per serving. That’s more than three times an adult’s recommended daily sugar intake.
Some of the other biggest culprits include:
- Maynards Jelly Babies Chicks – 20g of sugar (per four sweets)
- Galaxy Enchanted Eggs – 24g of sugar (per serving)
- Cadbury Creme Egg – 26.5g of sugar (per egg)
Sugar provides that immediate boost or “sugar high”, but that is brief compared to other healthier sources of energy, like carbohydrates.
Consuming large quantities of sugar can also lead to a noticeable drop in energy afterwards.
It can also lead to tooth decay and weight gain.
But how much sugar could there really be lurking in a child’s Easter egg hunt?
Start our virtual Easter egg hunt:
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