Ninety-eight per cent of residents who took part in a recent Sugar Smart survey by Cornwall Council said they think it’s important to have healthy options available when eating out.

Nearly 900 people took part in the online survey earlier this year - Sugar Smart is a campaign run by the national charity Sustrans.

The council said the results showed people are not only concerned about what is in their food and drink, but also want to see more options available - and want businesses to make it easier to make a healthy choice.

Interim public health director Dr Caroline Court said the survey highlighted the fact that people were becoming more aware of what they eat and showed there was a growing demand for healthier choices.

She said: ‘In Cornwall around 27% of children aged four to five are considered overweight through the National Child Measurement Programme and the current trend is for this figure to increase throughout the primary school years to around 32% by age 10 to 11.

‘And it doesn’t get better as we get older: 64 per cent of Cornwall’s population over the age of 18 are overweight or obese.

‘Reducing sugar intake is one way for us to tackle this and it’s encouraging that one in two people want to see cafes, restaurants and takeaways selling healthier food.’

More information is available on the Sugar Smart campaign on stand 95 at the Royal Cornwall Show.