THE chairman of Cadbury-Schweppes, maker of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, Bassetts and Dr Pepper, yesterday insisted that the confectionery industry was not responsible for soaring levels of child obesity.

John Sunderland told a gathering of students and business leaders at the BT Tower in London that Britons needed to take responsibility for their eating habits and weight problems. “This is an issue of personal accountability. It is not our responsibility as a company,” he said.

Mr Sunderland said Cadbury chocolate had been available for more than 100 years, while child obesity was a recent phenomenon.

Cadbury’s was criticised in April last year for a government-backed campaign to persuade children to buy chocolate bars in exchange for free sports equipment. Consumer watchdogs and health organisations claimed the amount of chocolate children would need to consume to win the sports equipment would outweigh the benefits of the exercise.

But Mr Sunderland yesterday said he knew more about the problem of child obesity than “most NGOs”. He also warned the Government against becoming a “nanny state” that told people what they could or could not eat.

Health figures in the UK show 8.5 per cent of six-year-olds and 15 per cent of 15-year-olds are obese. The Food Standards Agency predicts that obesity will cost the UK £3.6 billion a year by 2010.

Cadbury-Schweppes has become increasingly sensitive to child obesity issues since last year’s controversial campaign. The company has since changed the labelling on its products, reduced the size of its portions, and vowed to look at ways of reducing the “energy-dense” ingredients in its chocolate bars and sweets.

Mr Sunderland made his statements in response to questions from teenagers and students about the role of business in the community. The breakfast meeting was organised by BT as part of its “Big Listen” campaign, which is aimed at getting adults to listen to the views of children.

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