Public Health England launches app-centred Sugar Smart campaign

A new Change4Life campaign has been launched that utilises a mobile app to help people reduce their sugar consumption.

Public Health England's Sugar Smart campaign has been allocated a five million pound budget and encompasses TV, digital, outdoor and digital content, with the aim of helping parents pick healthier options for their children.

Using the mobile app, parents can scan product barcodes to reveal the amount of sugar they contain in cubes and grams. Retailers such as Asda, Tesco, Co-operative, Aldi and Morrisons are all supporting the campaign.

The app can scan up 75,000 products, underpinned by data from the George Institute for Global Health and Mysupermarket.co.uk that will be updated every two months.

Public Health England marketing director Sheila Mitchell said: "Everyone is waiting for the obesity strategy to come out, and that will come out in 2016. It's easier for the retailers to get behind promotional activity for us."

The organisation is also handing out five million Sugar Smart packs to primary school children and their families, while a national roadshow will tour 25 UK locations from January 18th.