BRADFORD health advocates is backing a new national scheme to reduce the amount of sugar parents allow their children to eat.

The Change4Life Sugar Swaps campaign, coordinated by Public Health England, aims to lower the risk of obesity and poor dental health.

Last night it was welcomed in Bradford, where toddlers under three have higher than average levels of tooth decay.

Consultant in Public Health for Bradford Council Greg Fell said it was important for adults to be good role models.

"The Sugar Swaps campaign makes it easier for parents to improve their family’s diet, at a time of year when people are thinking about being healthier and keeping their New Year's resolutions," he said.

"We know nationally that children’s sugar consumption, as a percentage of energy intake, is 50 per cent greater than the current recommendations.

"We’d encourage parents to search for Sugar Swaps to help them understand how they can improve their family’s diets by cutting out hidden sugars in soft drinks, breakfast cereals and other processed food."

The new initiative recommends a number of simple swaps, such as ditching sugary cereals for whole wheat and replacing ice cream with yoghurt.

By reducing sugar intake, health chiefs hope to reduce the levels of childhood obesity and tooth decay, with the latter said to be the most common reason for hospital admissions for children aged five to nine in 2012/2013.

According to data from Public Health England published in September, 17.1 per cent of three-year-olds in Bradford have signs of tooth decay, higher than the national average of 11.7 per cent.

In December, results from the National Child Measurement Programme stated Bradford had the highest proportion of overweight 11 year-olds in West Yorkshire, with 36.4 per cent measured as overweight or obese during the 2013/14 school year. The figure was higher than the regional prevalence rate for Yorkshire and the Humber - 33.4 per cent - and the national rate of 33.5 per cent.

Chairman of the Council's health and social care overview and scrutiny committee Councillor Vanda Greenwood said: "The committee are aware that children's oral health is very poor, and anything extra will be a massive help.

"We will also be looking at childhood obesity levels in February, as part of the Public Health performance review."

But Councillor Simon Cooke, (Con, Bingley Rural), who used his personal blog over the weekend to criticise TV chef Jamie Oliver for apparently saying sugar should be taxed like tobacco, said it was wrong to blame sugary foods alone for any obesity epidemic.

"I have no issue with schemes that encourage a healthy diet, what worries me is picking on one particular ingredient," he said.

"It misses the point on the reasons why people are getting fatter.

"Instead of grand, flag-waving schemes, we should be targeting resources to the people who are already overweight and need the support.

"This is trying to make out that one single ingredient is the problem, it's not, the problem is we eat too much and don't exercise enough."