UK “healthy” snack bars found high in sugar and fat, study warns

New research has exposed that many snack bars sold in the UK are misleadingly branded as healthy, despite large quantities of sugar and saturated fat.

Conducted by Action on Salt & Sugar at Queen Mary University, London, UK, the research reveals that 37% of “healthy” snack bars sold in the UK are high in sugars under the UK’s traffic-light labeling system. 

Action on Salt & Sugar calls on the government to “act urgently” to protect children’s health, with a clear set of policy measures. 

These include making front-of-pack labeling mandatory; restricting health and nutrition claims to products genuinely low in salt, sugar, and saturated fat; and introducing taxes on foods high in salt and sugar to encourage consumers to make healthier choices.

Dr. Kawther Hashem, senior lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt & Sugar, says: “Parents and young people are being misled into believing these products are healthy when many contain excess sugar and calories.”

The research highlights that, despite being promoted as “convenient” and “nutritious,” snack bar analysis revealed varying nutritional values, with products ranging from 62 to 378 kcal in one serving. 

It also finds that, when the snack bars were judged against Chile’s “tougher” labeling system, 68% would carry a high sugar warning. 

Weak public policy 

The advocacy group accuses misleading marketing and weak policy of contributing to excessive sugar intake — especially in young children and teenagers. 

“The UK government must take more assertive action by mandating clear front-of-pack labeling and tightening the sugar thresholds, introducing levies on unhealthy foods, and setting ambitious healthy sales targets to truly protect children’s health,” continues Hashem.

The research examined 458 snack bars sold across ten of the UK’s leading supermarkets. It argues that stricter nutrient-warning labels could cut obesity rates in the UK by 4% and prevent around 110,000 obesity-related deaths. 

Nourhan Barakat, nutritionist at Action on Salt & Sugar, says: “It’s unacceptable that an average serving provides nearly one-third of a child’s recommended daily sugar intake, putting young children at risk of diet-related health conditions that they could carry with them for life.”

Misleading sugar content

The survey compared the UK’s traffic light nutrition labeling system against the nutritional value of snack bars. It found that while 28% of snack bars were considered low-sugar, on average, each serving contains 7 g of sugar. The UK’s National Health Service recommends adults not to eat more than 30 g of free sugars daily, while kids aged 7–10 should eat less than 24 g of free sugars per day.

Barakat adds: “We, as consumers, deserve honesty from food businesses and shouldn’t have to decode confusing or misleading claims. Phrases like ‘natural ingredients,’ ‘high in fiber,’ and ‘high protein,’ can be deceptive as many of these bars can be high in sugar and saturated fat.”

For example, the research notes that M&S Dark Chocolate Date Bar contains 26.5 g of sugar per serving, approximately seven teaspoons, and Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Squares Caramel & Chocolate Snack Bars contain 14 g per serving. 

By comparison, the bar with the lowest sugar content was Grenade Dark Chocolate Mint Flavour (60 g), at 0.4 g per serving. 

Moreover, the study found that 55% of the examined snack bars were high in saturated fat, and all products contained an average of 175 kcal and 7.2 g of total fat per serving. 

The UK’s voluntary sugar reduction program, launched in 2016, aimed for a 20% reduction in sugar by 2020 across key food categories. However, research published last year indicated that these programs achieved a 3.5% sugar reduction of critical contributors to sugar intake. Experts recommend expanding the successful UK soft drink levy and applying a mandatory levy to a broader range of products.