Chuck snacks off the checkout - why we need a campaign
January 2004
Chuck snacks off the checkout - why we need a campaignJanuary 2004 |
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Snacking
and health As a nation we are snacking and dining out more than ever before. Roughly 33% of food is now being eaten outside of the home, almost double the figure for 1980. We tend to choose more energy dense, sugary, fatty foods when eating out, so these foods can contribute a lot of extra calories to our diet. For instance one Mars bar at the checkout can add around 280 kcalories, 43g of sugar and 6.4g of saturated fat to your daily intake. For a woman such a 'treat' will provide 15% of her recommended maximum intake of energy. For a 10-year-old boy it would provide nearly three quarters of his maximum recommended intake of sugar and about a third of his maximum daily recommended intake of saturated fat. Some food companies argue that average energy intake (the amount of calories we eat) has been falling in recent years, which means that snacking cannot be blamed for increase obesity rates. However, experts agree that the figures on energy intake are not clear. Adults tend to under-report the less-healthy foods they eat, by on average 25%. Children under-report how much they eat too - by between 15-22% according to a recent government funded study. Dietary surveys can thus underestimate the amount eaten. The table below shows that school-aged children have increased their consumption of sugary drinks, crisps and confectionary over the last fourteen years. These figures are likely to be significant underestimations of the real quantities of sugary drinks and savoury snacks consumed.
Data from: the Food Standards Agency's National Diet & Nutrition Survey of four and a half to eighteen year olds (2000) and the Department of Health's report: Diets of British Schoolchildren (1989) Children's consumption of soft drinks has increased enormously - by almost an extra litre a week, and savoury snacks and confectionery intakes have also increased significantly. This increase in consumption is backed up by sales figures. Between 1998 and 2002 sales of products aimed at or popular with children increased by over 25% - from £336m to £424m (Mintel). Latest government surveys also show that adults are consuming more soft drinks, confectionery and crisps than before. For instance, between 1987 and 2001 confectionery consumption increased by a further 66g - which is equivalent to an extra Mars Bar a week.
The UK population is getting fatter at an alarming rate. Since the 1980s, the proportion of overweight children has more than doubled, so that one in every five children is now overweight. Obesity in adults has tripled, rising from 7% in 1980 to 24% in 2001. Recent research has shown a relationship between the number of soft drinks consumed each day and an increased risk of obesity. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of getting heart disease, type II diabetes, and some forms of cancer. These risks are also increased by high consumption of foods that are energy-dense, high in fat and/or salt. For the first time, type II diabetes and artery-furring (which can lead to heart disease) have been reported in teenagers in the UK. Both of these diseases were previously associated with middle-aged ill-health.
Snacking on sugary foods and drinks is a big problem for teeth too. The recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey of children (2000) showed that 53% of children had dental decay. The same survey showed that added sugars were contributing roughly 17% of children's energy intake, which is one and a half times what it should be. Recent government figures also found that about 25 per cent of three-year-olds in Manchester have black stumps where their milk teeth should be. When these figures were published, Tony Jenner, Northwest Regional Consultant in Dental Health, commented, 'There is only one cause of tooth decay and that is sugar in food and drinks.' Research shows that dental decay is strongly associated with frequent consumption of added sugars between meals. General Dentistry reported on a US study earlier this year which showed that teenagers' health is suffering because of sugary drinks and foods. The research showed that drinking carbonated beverages seems to be one of the most significant causes of increased cavities and obesity for today's teenagers. The phosphoric, citric, tartaric and/or carbonic acid added to many soft drinks is also linked to breaking down the tooth enamel around dental treatment, often leading to more extensive dental work to prevent total tooth loss. Additionally, the phosphoric acid in most regular and diet cola drinks limits calcium absorption and may affect bone density. By the age of 16, young women should have accumulated 90 to 97 percent of their bone mass, making inadequate calcium intake during these formative years a vital health issue. Chucking snacks off the checkout is just one way we can help improve people's diets and health. If the snacks aren't on the checkout shoppers will be much less likely to give in to temptation. Parents' lives might also be improved by not having to put up with children pestering them at the checkouts!
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Those
impulse snack purchases at the checkout aren't just a temptation for
shoppers - shopkeepers get tempted too. This recent Nestlé
advert in the Grocer invites shopkeepers to share in a £1
million profit opportunity…. by putting chocolate temptation directly
in front of shoppers. The ad suggests that shopkeepers place a selection
of chocolates in front of Take a Break magazine, so that Nestlé
can sell an extra 15 million chocolate bars in a year!
