New research reveals one in five Brits feel ‘guilty’ when they eat chocolate – but almost half say it makes them feel happy.
A survey of 2,00 people by Prodigy snacks found women are much more likely to feel naughty, sinful or guilty about devouring chocolate, than men.
Nearly half the women surveyed (47%) admitted to feeling one of these negative emotions when eating chocolate – whereas men were twice as likely to feel ‘sexy’ and half as likely to feel ‘sinful’ after a chocolate bar.
Behavioural and wellbeing psychologist, Lee Chambers, said: “Eating chocolate can often release serotonin and endorphins, making us feel happier and more positive. However, with every day the burden of image and pressures of healthy living this happiness is often triggered into guilt.
“A large amount of guilt comes from our longer-term vision on what good looks like. The expectancy when we desire to “be good” or “lose some weight”, but your impulsivity takes over, leaving you being less than compassionate with yourself.”
Reflecting on secret snacking, he added: “In a world where we can be judged on what we eat, treats are increasingly seen as naughty and this pushes us to be secretive about chocolate. We naturally want to appear good but eating forbidden foods leaves us feeling exposed and open to judgement.
“Secret eating is more prevalent when we are eating to comfort ourselves from negative emotions, and being judged when we are already feeling exposed is something, we all ultimately want to avoid.”
From snacking in secret (15%), binging while watching Netflix (23%) or eating a midnight feast (15%) it seems most Brits do not fare well in a bid to curb their favourite treats.
In a poll closer than Trump and Biden, the UK appeared to be divided over the simple pleasures of salt or sweet. A third of those surveyed claimed they could not live without cheese OR chocolate –with just 0.15% dividing the results.
A quarter of people were left lusting after crisps, while a 30% went doughy eyed over bread.
Interestingly for women, chocolate is the main thing they can’t go without (39%) than cheese then bread, with 10% more women than men claiming they couldn’t live without it by their side.
Sameer Vaswani, Founder of Prodigy Snacks, said: “It’s clear from the results that us Brits have a love affair with chocolate yet many also want to be a bit healthier next year. We pride ourselves on guilt-free, indulgent chocolate that isn’t packed with refined sugar, palm oil and other nasties.
“Prodigy seeks to change the chocolate industry and the ingredients being used because we believe it is possible to produce snacks and treats that do your body good. We hope to change chocolate for the next generation because they deserve better. We offer shoppers a healthier, plant-based alternative to your favourite flavours, such as Snickers, Bounty or Terry’s Chocolate Orange.”
After nine months of banana breads, takeaways and fakeaways, the data suggests 60% of Brits plan to cut down on sugar and unhealthy snacks in a bid to get healthy in 2021.
Heading into the new year, one in five say they want to cut down on chocolate, with nearly 30% looking to pass on junk food.
Unsurprisingly women are more likely to set resolutions about the food they eat and how they eat it, with more women than being open to mindful eating, reduced alcohol consumption – more than 15% more likely than men to attempt to pack in chocolate.
Revolutionising everyday chocolate favourites, this cacao chocolate is plant-based and packed with nutrients. The bars include a Chunky Chocolate and a Chunky Orange Chocolate with African superfruit Baobab.
There is also, a Peanut & Caramel Cahoots bar coined the ‘vegan Snickers’ and Coconut Cahoots, the ‘clean-eating Bounty’. The two latest additions to the range include a 60% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and a Roasted Hazelnut Chocolate bar. All the bars are less than half* the sugar of their mainstream alternatives.
