Is Newcastle losing a fight against sugar?
Credit - Millie Lockhart
A craze of late night dessert parlours are a sweet success for customers and dessert chains, but a cause for concern for obesity in Newcastle.
Dessert parlours or 'pudding parlours' are growing in number in Newcastle.
However, NHS digital has revealed that the north east has the greatest levels of obesity in the North east. Obesity related hospital admissions in the north east is 58 per 100,000 people. This is a staggering statistic compared to the overall english average of 20 per 100,000.
Masood Mohammed, the business development manager at Cream Curls, who has recently opened it's fourth chain in the north east said 'With the creation of of machines that make waffles, crepes and ice creams straight away, rather than staying at a restaurant or at home, people are now thinking they will go somewhere else for desserts''.
However, discussing Newcastle's obesity problem, Masood said 'It is very difficult to be in an environment like this and tell a customer what they can and cannot have'.
He added 'It's not for me to tell a customer whether they are overindulging'.
Are cafes and dessert restaurants being transparent in what they are selling?
Popular dessert chain, Kaspas first opened on Clayton Street, Newcastle, in 2014 the brand has expanded to Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Darlington in the North East.
Pudding parlours, such as Kaspas are revolutionising the typical desserts of menus, selling large portion desserts for a fraction of the cost. Typically found on dessert parlour menus are pancake and waffle stacks.The Chronicle reported that turnover for Kaspas is expected to exceed £2m this year.
Although extremely popular, Kaspas has been criticised for a lack of product information by customers. Kaspas have publicly stated that calorie information is only available in store, and not accessible online.
However, customers in Newcastle and the rest of the country have complained that calorie information has not been available in store, The lack of data available for customers begs the question of how calorific Kaspas products are, and why this information is not publicly available.
Despite requesting a comment, Kaspas failed to respond.
Has social media gone too far glorifying sugar?
Ginormous milkshakes,topped with brownies, chocolates and pastries dubbed 'freakshakes' are a social media phenomenon,
Sold at The Great British Cupcakery, Newcastle, 'freakshakes' are believed to contain over FOUR TIMES the recommended daily amount of sugar for adults.
However, the sugar shock has failed to phase customers. Alice Boyes, a 22-year-old food blogger, said, 'I am fully aware of that what I am having is calorific... if not all of my daily calorie and sugar intake.
Alice explained how she was 'Interested in the aesthetics of the shake' She added 'I published it online for all my friends to see, show them what they are missing out... it's visually enticing so generates an interest.
Action on Sugar are calling for a ban on freakshakes that exceed a calorie limit of 300kcal per serving.
Kawther Hashem, a researcher at Action on Sugar, said; 'It is time the government introduced legislation to force companies to be more transparent about what is in their products, by displaying clear nutritional information online and in the outlets at all times'.
However, Paige Alexandra, a 27 year-old social media influencer, disagreed. She stated; 'Being someone who struggled with my weight, self acceptance and bulimia, I wouldn't appreciate going into a beautiful cafe, to treat myself and seeing the calories and the amount of things in the product''.
Paige added, ''If I wanted to know, I think it should be available upon request''.
Product information from Great British Cupcakery is not available online. The Great British Cupcakery were contacted for an interview but failed to respond.
What is the sugar tax and is it making a difference?
Millions of children benefited from the government's introduction of the 'Sugar Tax' in 2018. 'The Sugar Tax' has already resulted in over 50% of manufacturers reducing the sugar content of their drinks since 2016. This is the equivalent to 45 MILLION KG of sugar every year.
Public Health England are now tackling the food industry to reduce the amount of sugar in popular children's items. The list included, biscuits, cakes, ice creams, and morning goods such as buns and waffles.
Confectionery listed by Public Health England, are key products sold in dessert parlours in Newcastle, and are expected to suffer from changes to the Sugar Tax.
Can Newcastle win the fight against sugar?
Sugar is now a frightening problem in the north east for children and South Tyneside has one of the highest rates of obesity in the country.
David Fairlamb, an award winning personal trainer from South Sheilds, argued that sugar has become such a gigantic problem that 'Double the amount of cancers are now related to obesity rather than smoking'.
Newcastle City Council - Newcastle Obesity Prevention Health Needs Assessment 2017/2018
In order to combat sugar, David added, 'We need to reeducate kids and their parents on sugar, and add it to the national curriculum'. Referring to the severity of Newcastle's sugar problem David argued 'This needs to be sorted quickly, Jamie Oliver has touched upon this and realised how much sugar was in his products'.
His Fit Factor Competition with The Journal, a newspaper in Newcastle, saw over 600 applicants apply to be involved. David's chosen 8 were all heavily overweight initially but were all taken off the gastric band list at the end of the competition. David said 'Each applicant lost a minimum of 5 stone 12 each, by getting those results and taking sugar out of their diets, and going back to what you should be eating'.
His 'Sugar Clean Lean' cooking classes have also enabled his clients, who he argued 'have very good jobs and very little free time' the opportunity to educate them on cutting back on refined sugar, whilst learning to cook.
Credit - David Fairlamb Fitness
I'm known as the white death man on the radio, because I talk about sugar so much'
- David Fairlamb,Personal Trainer and Columnist
David was incredibly passionate about his work and his efforts to fight back at sugar. He added 'I have never seen anyone fail once they have cut sugar out, someone will only plateau if they take their eye of the ball...I had a guy who lost 6 stone in 16 weeks'.