Junk food bargains encourage obesity

Added on 19/08/10

Author: Sarah Warman – Reporter

We all like a bargain, especially so considering the recent financial climate. However, our eager eye for a deal is causing major weight gain for many of us, according to health experts.

We’ve all seen the offers such as ‘4 for a £1’,’ buy 1 get 1 free’. Snack food offers have been very much part of British stores for years. However, such meal deals and special could be attributing to the rates of obesity in the UK. These deals have been compared to ‘happy hour’ drink promotions that can often be harmful to our health.

Outraged

This week, many health experts have attacked stores that offer these promotions. “The supermarkets pounce on us at every opportunity and feed the obesity epidemic on their way to profits”, said Nutritionist and obesity campaigner Zoe Harcombe.

Mrs Harcombe has called for such offers to be outlawed. “If someone said ‘Have free cigarettes with your purchase’ everyone would be outraged”, she said.

A recent survey has revealed that around 70% of us admit to choosing a larger drink, or buying a meal deal that includes chocolate and crisps with a sandwich, if the offers only cost a little extra.

“We are at our weakest when we have ordered a cappuccino and are being offered a muffin, cake or bagel”, said psychologist Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, of consumer research consultancy MindLab International. “The appetite centre of our brain has been activated and we don’t tend to think about the 700 calories that come with the full-cream doughnut we are being offered”.

With the rate of obesity in the UK reaching around 24%, and costing the NHS over £4 billion per year, the need for weight loss has never been greater. There are many methods and aids for us all to lose weight. Remember though, however hard it may be, staying clear of junk food offers can be our first step in combating weight gain!