Coffee shops in the dock: Health chiefs warns high street chains’ ‘little nudges’ to buy sweet treats are fuelling obesity crisis
- High Street coffee chains are fuelling the obesity crisis by pushing high-calorie treats, England’s chief nutritionist has warned in at a conference of Public Health
- She called for immediate action from chains such as Costa, Pret, and Starbucks
- Britain is the third fattest European nation, with two in three people overweight
High Street coffee chains are fuelling the obesity crisis by pushing high-calorie treats, England’s chief nutritionist has warned.
Dr Alison Tedstone said they actively encourage customers to indulge by giving ‘little nudges’ to buy something with their drink.
She called for immediate action from chains such as Costa, Pret, Caffé Nero and Starbucks, starting with making their calorie labelling far clearer.
‘Eating out is no longer just a treat,’ she said. ‘Having a pastry or a muffin with a coffee is adding hidden extra calories to our diet as many coffee shops do not have good nutrition labelling.
‘Coffee shops have got a long way to go. When they ask “Would you like a muffin with that?” you’re actually purchasing 400 additional calories.
‘If the muffin’s got a lovely name that implies it’s healthy you don’t think about it in the same way you think about a burger. It’s part of the problem.’
Dr Tedstone also told Public Health England’s annual conference at Warwick University: ‘Major coffee chains have committed publicly to reducing sugar and now is the time for all to raise their game. More action is needed to tackle obesity.’
This week a United Nations report found Britain was the third fattest European nation, with two in three people overweight and one in four obese.
Experts warned that adults typically consume around 300 more calories a day than needed, while the figure is 500 for children. Around a third of our calories are eaten on the go. Leading coffee chains show nutritional details of menus on their websites. Some display sugar and fat content in store but these are often given per 100g rather than per item.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘Coffee chains and other food outlets clearly aren’t doing enough. What is needed is calorie information at every outlet to allow the public to keep a running total.’
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Obesity and its effects cost the NHS £10billion a year and it has been blamed for soaring levels of Type 2 diabetes. To combat obesity, plans to make restaurants and takeaways put calorie labelling on menus moved a step closer this week.
Chris Stemman, executive director of the British Coffee Association, said customers should be given ‘clear nutritional information’ on all products.
He added: ‘We encourage responsible consumer consumption when it comes to food and drink choices and to be aware of the information available when making purchases.’
The British Retail Consortium was approached for comment.
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