My Sugar in Food and Drinks (Targets, Labelling and Advertising) Bill, would reverse escalating NHS costs, estimated at £47bn a year, according to McKinsey due to obesity and diabetes by letting consumers know many teaspoons of sugar are in their food so they can make informed choices.

The World Health Organisation recommended daily limit of sugar is 5% of calories equivalent to 9 teaspoons for men – or a can of Coke – and 6 for women – or a light yoghurt.

People in Britain consume twice this recommended daily limit, with teenagers consuming three times that level. The Bill requires products to have sugar content labelled in teaspoons thereby enabling consumers to make informed choices so they can reduce their weight and reduce the nation’s health costs.

Once sugar content is expressed in teaspoons in products and people know how what they are eating manufacturers will compete to reduce sugar content instead of increasing it.

I am pleased that Jamie Oliver’s Sugar Manifesto includes visible sugar labelling in teaspoons on sugary drinks.

By giving people the power to make informed choices about their diet, so reducing obesity and diabetes, the Bill will reduce the long term costs of the NHS making it more sustainable.

Making multi-billion pound savings to the NHS by allowing the public to make informed choices is far better than simply accepting the rising costs of obesity and diabetes and arguing about how to find the money.