21 Nov 2025 Guest blog: Snack bars: Healthy by name, not nutrition
In our latest guest blog, we hear from Natalie Brabben, Communications Officer at Action on Salt and Sugar, about the growing popularity of snack bars, the misleading health claims shaping young people’s choices, and why an outdated Nutrient Profiling Model is leaving families confused — and potentially at greater risk of diet-related ill health.
Snack bars – including cereal, date, and protein-based bars – promise to be a convenient and supposedly healthy option. With eight in ten young people believing cereal bars to be healthy, and over half eating them regularly for breakfast or as snacks, it’s clear they’ve cemented their place in young people’s diets [1]. FoodActive’s own observations across schools and local communities echo this trend, as snack bars become increasingly commonplace in packed lunches and school canteens.
But as our survey, launched during Sugar Awareness Week, revealed, this promise of health doesn’t quite hold up. Despite their colourful packaging and array of health claims, many snack bars are packed with sugars, salt, and saturated fat – ingredients that parents may not realise are even there, hidden behind buzzwords like “natural”, “high fibre”, and “source of protein”. These claims create a health halo effect, leaving parents and children blind-sided by what they’re really eating, and increasing the risk of overconsumption, and diet-related disease [2].
One important but often overlooked reason for this confusion lies in the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) – the system used to decide which products are considered healthy enough to be advertised or promoted.
The Nutrient Profile Model
The NPM is a tool used by the UK Government to assess the nutritional quality of food and drinks. It underpins several key public health policies, including restrictions on advertising foods high in fat, salt and sugars (HFSS) to children.
Foods are scored based on their overall nutritional content: positive points are awarded for beneficial elements such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, fibre, and protein content, and negative points are given for salt, sugars, and saturated fat. The final score determines if a product is classified as ‘healthier’ or ‘less healthy’ [3].
On paper, this sounds like an effective system, but in practise is outdated, unaligned with modern science, and easily exploited.
How well does the NPM really work?
Developed in 2004, the NPM hasn’t kept pace with today’s evidence or dietary recommendations. Crucially, it is based on total sugars, not free sugars, the type most strongly linked to tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes. As a result, a snack bar high in added fruit purees and concentrates can still achieve a healthier score, despite contributing far more sugar to the diet than recommended.
At the same time, the NPM awards points for nutrients such as fibre, protein, fruit and nuts. While beneficial in isolation, these do not offset or replace the harmful amounts of free sugars often included in these products. Nevertheless, manufacturers exploit this by adding small amounts of healthier ingredients to push products into the ‘healthier’ category.
Whilst the NPM restricts the advertising and promotion of HFSS products, it currently has no influence over health and nutrition claims on packaging. This means that products deemed too unhealthy to be advertised and promoted, can still carry claims like “high in protein” or “no added sugars” – a confusing inconsistency for consumers.
What this looks like in practice
Our latest research reflects these inconsistencies [4]. Of the 458 snack bars surveyed, nearly two-thirds would be classified as HFSS, meaning they would be restricted from being advertised or promoted in store under current regulations. Yet despite this, more than half featured a “protein” claim somewhere on their packaging. Similarly, nearly a fifth made a “fibre” claim, and almost a quarter made “low sugar” or “no added sugar” claim.
This mismatch highlights a major policy gap between how the NPM is applied to advertising, and how products are presented to consumers. It’s no surprise that parents and young people struggle to make fully informed food choices when products deemed too unhealthy to promote in store are still covered in messages suggesting the opposite.
The NPM – what needs to change?
The Government has announced its intention to update the NPM as part of its 10 Year Health Plan, and whilst this commitment is welcome, it must be effective. A revised NPM should:
- Reflect the latest public health evidence, including updated definitions of free sugars.
- Account for portion size, particularly in out-of-home and ‘single-serve’ products.
- Be applied consistently across policy areas, including labelling, health and nutrition claims, and marketing regulations.
A modernised and consistently applied NPM could close existing loopholes, curb misleading claims, and provide a clear and credible definition of what truly counts as a ‘healthy’ food. If the Government is serious about improving diets and reducing health inequalities, it must get with the times and create a system that truly reflects today’s science.
Read the full Action on Salt and Sugar report here: https://www.actiononsugar.org/sugar-awareness-week/sugar-awareness-week-2025/sugar-awareness-week-report/
Author Bio:
Natalie Brabben is the Communications Officer at Action on Salt and Sugar, based at Queen Mary University of London.
References
[1] BiteBack, Action on Salt & Sugar, Livity. Calling on Food and Drink Companies – Don’t Hide What’s Inside. Accessed October 3, 2025. https://cdn.bitebackmedia.com/media/documents/Dont_Hide_Whats_Inside.pdf
[2] Fernan C, Schuldt J. P, Niederdeppe J. Health Halo Effects from Product Titles and Nutrient Content Claims in the Context of “Protein” Bars. Health Communication. 2018;33(12):1425-1433. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1358240
[3] Department of Health. Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance – January 2011. UK Government. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7cdac7e5274a2c9a484867/dh_123492.pdf
[4] Action on Salt & Sugar. Snack Bars Report. October 19, 2025. https://www.actiononsugar.org/sugar-awareness-week/sugar-awareness-week-2025/sugar-awareness-week-report/
