Junk food at supermarket checkouts is worsening the obesity crisis

Parents – have you ever been stood in a supermarket shopping queue that seems to never decrease in size, this whilst simultaneously being nagged endlessly by your children for chocolate and/or sweets which are convenient placed right at the end of each and every checkout. If so, you are not alone, and this is the dilemma faced by millions of parents around Britain who are being harassed by their children into buying the unhealthy junk food stacked up at the checkouts.

In fact, a new survey has found that a staggering 90% of shoppers believe this cunning sales tactic is partly contributing to obesity and surely now the Government will be forced to push through legislation aimed at stopping this practice, and easing the spiralling obesity crisis.

On Monday a campaign was launched called ‘Junk Free Checkouts’ which does exactly what it says on the tin – aims to make supermarket checkouts free of junk and help to put an end to the ‘pester power’ of children who almost bully their parents into buying them unhealthy and high sugary treats that are placed near the tills.

The initiative was announced by the British Dietetic Association and the Children’s Food Campaign, following the results of a nationwide survey in which 78% of people complained that junk food at supermarket checkouts is ‘annoying’. Moreover, 83% of respondents said they had been nagged by their children for junk food at the checkouts and 75% have relented and bought junk for their children due to incessant pestering.

There was almost 2,000 people who completed the Chuck the Junk Survey, mainly comprising of women, of which two thirds had children.

Supermarkets have been pressured by health campaigners for a number of years to stop selling unhealthy junk food at their tills as they say it is blatantly targeted at easily swayed children and the promotional offers do not help matters on what has been described as the ‘guilt lanes’.

Speaking on behalf of the British Dietetic Association, obesity specialist Linda Hindle commented: “Retailers are unwilling to stop pushing unhealthy food at the checkout and queuing areas. It may be lucrative for them but, as our survey found, it is deeply unpopular with customers and nudges purchasing behaviour in the wrong direction. If retailers can’t act on their own, then we hope to see robust action from the Government to tackle this problem.”

The issue was raised in Government back in July when health minister Anna Soubry blasted supermarkets for the cynical store layouts which make it particularly difficult for parents with young children. However, she then ruled out any clampdown on the sweet and chocolate guilt lanes in shops and supermarkets, merely days after making a vow to get rid of them.

Some of the worst offenders in this regard have found to be Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, all stocking an alarming amount of junk food at their tills.

Campaigners have hit out at Supermarkets for seemingly not acting on promises to improve their methods in selling confectionery in the wake of a 2003 investigation by the independent watchdog the Food Commission.

There are those who say that stocking checkout aisles with chocolate and sweets is a calculating ploy by the supermarkets to tempt shoppers into a sugar rush after a long, laborious trek around the supermarket.

Professor of marketing at EM-Lyon Business School, Agnes Nairn, said that shoppers could change their buying habits by the point of reaching the checkout. “Consumers are more likely to go for something unhealthy when they are tired because they aren’t able to make the rational decision they would make otherwise,” she said. “Although they all know that a chocolate egg is not as good for them as fruit salad, if you have to do that in a hurry, they make the wrong choice.”

Sugar content and calories in soft drinks to be downsized

In the beginning months of 2012, the government created a new ‘Public Health Responsibility Deal’ pledge, aiming to reduce 5 billion calories from the nation’s daily diet. The primary reason for this is due to the fact that England’s obesity rates are amongst the worst across Europe and in the developed world. It is believed that over 60% of adults and a third of 10 and 11 year olds are overweight or obese, and clearly things need to change.

Therefore, working together with some of the country’s biggest supermarkets, food manufacturers, caterers and food outlets, The Department of Health has decided to target alcohol, food, health at work and physical activity.

This brings us to the news emerging this week that leading drinks manufacturers are starting to acknowledge the fact that high sugar content in their drinks is having a negative impact on obesity levels and that action is also needed to try and protect teeth from a premature decay.

Soft drinks such as Lucozade, Ribena and Irn-Bru are now set to see their sugar content reduced by up to 10% – actions that maybe should have been considered long before now.

Presently, a can of Irn-Bru contains about 6 teaspoons of sugar and if this is not horrifying enough, a 500ml bottle of Ribena contains about a staggering 52.6g of sugar (13 teaspoons) and 216 calories.
Both drinks are produced by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline who released a statement via a spokeswoman, saying: “We have a responsibility to help people make healthier choices. We are saying this is a first step. It is the start of a journey.”

The manufacturers of Irn-Bru, AG Barr, have also relented from government pressure and will cut the calorie content in their range of drinks by 5%. In addition, the Ribena ready-to-drink and Lucozade Energy drinks will see a drop  of sugar and calorie content by up to 10%, and J2O will launch two flavours in a new slim line can that contain 10% less calories than the regular 275ml bottle.
Public Health Minister Anna Soubry was delighted with the news that the drinks giants had gotten on-board with the Responsibility Deal, seeing it as a step in the right direction for the long-term plan to tackle obesity.

She said: “Being overweight and not eating well is bad for our health. To reverse the rising tide of obesity we have challenged the nation to reduce our calorie intake by 5 billion calories a day. On average that’s just 100 calories less a day per person. Today’s announcement will cut the calories and sugar by up to 10% in leading brands like Lucozade and Ribena. Through the Responsibility Deal we are already achieving real progress in helping people reduce the calories and salt in their diet. Overall, more than 480 companies including many leading high street brands have signed up to the Responsibility Deal. We are encouraged by the extra businesses which have signed up today but I want to see even more progress.  All in the food industry have a part to play and I now expect companies which are not yet taking action to come forward and make pledges.”

There are now 31 companies that have joined the governmental scheme including Coca-Cola GB, PepsiCo, Britvic, Asda, Tesco, Co-Operative Food and Burton’s Biscuits.

Unfortunately, not everybody welcomed the latest developments with a positive attitude. Charlie Powell of the Children’s Food Campaign said that the newer version of the popular drinks would still merit a red traffic light according to Food Standards Agency guidelines. He said: “So they are swapping one red light for another, not exactly impressive. Lots of companies making tokenistic commitments does not constitute effective action to tackle obesity – it is regrettable that the Department of Health is pushing a smoke-and-mirrors strategy which puts public health behind commercial interests.”