Asda, Morrisons and Iceland have been named as the "worst offenders" for undermining parents' efforts to feed their children healthily, according to the Children's Food Campaign (CFC).

Yet, not one "traditional format" supermarket in the survey had any healthy food options promoted at its checkouts, the report underlined.

While these three supermarkets were top of the list for displaying unhealthy food or drink at more than 80% of their checkouts, the CFC also criticised the Co-operative, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose for making families queue past displays of unhealthy snacks to reach the tills.

Sasha Watkins, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said: "We all know how hard it is to steer our loved ones in a healthy direction without having to queue past brightly coloured snacks targeted at children. Studies have found that having food within easy reach is more likely to tempt us and parents also have to contend with the added factor of ‘pester power’."

The author of The Food Coach blog added that mums are already struggling to keep their kids' calories under control and this is another unhelpful hurdle for families.

"Sweets and chocolates are just ‘empty calories’ as they contain high levels of sugar and fat but no other good nutrients like vitamins, minerals or fibre," Watkins told HuffPost Lifestyle

She added that a recent survey demonstrated the UK population continues to get too much of its energy intake from added sugar, of which confectionary is a key source.

"This is exactly the type of calorie intake supermarkets should not be promoting if we want to win the battle against the bulge."

The Checkouts Checked Out report found that most supermarket branches and high street stores routinely promote unhealthy snacks at their tills and in their queuing areas, despite several promising to reduce the practice - and in many cases, sweets and crisps were positioned at children's eye level.

The trend had also spread to smaller stores and non-food retailers including HMV, New Look, Superdrug and WHSmith, which all displayed sweets and chocolates in the queuing area near the checkouts, the CFC said.

Just one supermarket, Sainsbury's, confirmed a policy of not selling "impulse confectionery" at their main checkouts, but added they did display "gifting confectionery or seasonal lines".

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "Parents daren't take their eyes off their kids for a minute in case they get into trouble and now it seems we need to keep a constant eye on retailers too.

"In the last 10 years we have made so much headway in the battle against junk food with clearer on-pack labelling, but when it comes to the simple issues of junk food on display by the checkout we are back to where we started.

"Stores must stop working against mums and dads and work with us."

Loading Slideshow

• Hidden Fat Traps Lurking In Your Food

• Dried Fruits

  Dried fruits are a great tasting snack, but beware they are often sprayed with a sugar solution before being packaged.

• Sushi

  Sushi can come packed with mayonnaise (or mayo based sauces) as well as other sauces full of hidden calories.

• Fruit Smoothies

  Not all smoothies have potential fat traps - ones made entirely from wholefood ingredients and fresh fruit, are packed with nutrients and vitamins. However, don't be fooled into thinking that all smoothies make a healthy drink. Many processed smoothies are so full of added sugars, syrup, additives and full-fat milk (and sometimes ice cream), that you'd be better off having a large milkshake from your local takeaway.

• Vegetable Crisps

  It may seem like the healthier alternative to a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, but veggie crisps have the same fat content as ordinary crisps.

• Frozen Yoghurt

  Frozen yoghurt is usually low in calories - but the sugar content can be sky high.

• Chicken Wraps

  A tortilla wrap may contain carbohydrate than a slice of bread, but most pre-packed wraps are packed full of hidden fat traps, such as processed meat, mayonnaise and butter.

• Processed Cereal

  Many cereals contain a host of different sweeteners to make them more tasty, so make sure you check the sugar content before piling it into your breakfast bowl.

• Low Fat Muffins

  Choosing a low-fat muffin over a full fut version may seem like a clever move, but in reality, the snack can contain more sugar. This means that not only could your 'healthier' muffin contain more calories, it may be less filling too.

• Gluten-Free

  Gluten-free aren't necessarily more healthy. Many gluten-free foods are processed and packaged, meaning they still have the fat traps other foods have.

• Rice Cakes

  Rice cakes can be a low calorie snack - as long as you stick to plain and don't pile on the toppings.