New costa meal deal is irresponsible

[Habanero]

Costa have just launched a lunchtime meal deal with a toastie, crisps and a coffee. The one pictured on the ad with a cheese and ham toastie and a latte contains 754 calories, 34g fat, 15.4g saturated fat and 2.1g salt. You can cut off a bit of the calories and fat by opting for lower-fat milk, but it’s still a third of an adult’s daily calories with no source of fibre and no fruit or veg. This sort of thing normalises overeating: by making this a “meal deal” the company is presenting this as a normal lunch option, psychologically nudging people towards consuming an energy-rich, nutritionally poor midday meal.

Clearly it’s a first world problem and we all have choices and don’t need to buy this, but it’s the normalisation of overeating like this which I think has done more than anything to raise obesity levels. AIBU?

Meh.

Just the toastie and the coffee (though perhaps a cappuccino not a latte) would make an ok lunch it’s the crisps that make it unhealthy.

Presumably they have done their research and that's what people want to buy as it is their normal lunch.

They could do a mega healthy meal deal that wouldn't sell but they are a profit making organisation.

Yes

Its one meal consisting of a third of an adults calorific intake.

Given that the generally accepted norm is three meals a day I’m not sure what the issue is.

The only thing I’d take exception to is the salt content.

I really wish we could stop babying people and allow them to make their own dietary choices.

Well I don't think anyone sees Costa as some kind of beacon of healthy eating so YABU.

What do you suggest? That they're forbidden from offering meal deals?

Have a day off. Seriously? Most meal deals would yield similar results. It isn't being advertised as healthy. It also is not an example of 'overeating'. It's not particularly nutritious no but people are eating far, far worse out there.

What banjo says

I do think coffee chains are part of the problem - I think it’s complex and would be an oversimplification to blame them entirely and I know people will say it’s an individual’s choice but it does make it easy and very desirable to consume a large number of calories without getting anything in the way of nutrition.

Habits are so easy to form as well and so hard to break. I fell into the habit of going to the cafe in the park for coffee and cake and soon found that as soon as I set foot in any park I felt hungry! I learned very fast to associate the park with lovely sugary treats which I didn’t have a hope of burning off no matter how vigorous a walk I was going to do! The size of the coffees you can get in Costa, Starbucks etc is ludicrous and the slices of cake are huge as well.

Normalisation of eating one third of your daily calories in one of your three daily meals?
I fail to see the problem.

I don’t get why it being a third of an adults daily calorie requirement is an issue... most people have three meals a day don’t they? Salt content is high though.

You could pick the healthier options? Instead of crisps they might provide something else. That lunch would be something me and my mum have on a day out, not every day.

What’s the issue with eating one third of your daily calories in one third of your daily meals?

You'd be surprised - look at all meal deals and your looking at 1000 calories just for lunch. Tesco, marks and Spencer's etc are all the same.

Can't get too worked up about this. But it does make me cross they add sugar to their porridge so you can't have it without.

YABU.

You could argue that any kind of unhealthy food advertising is irresponsible. Adults are more knowledgeable about nutrition now than ever and are entirely free to make their own lunch choices.

As a rare treat kind of thing I don’t think it’s unhealthy. Obviously not every day though.

Most meal deals are sandwich, crisps and a drink so fail to see the issue. Thanks for letting me know though, tempted to check it out (you don’t really work for Costa do you?)

So tell Costa. Make sure you include your title of self-appointed Chief Nutrition Officer.

I have seen far worse, TBF. Went to a steakhouse in the US once where a children's apple sauce eating competition was being advertised. Via flyers in the loos

YABU. Plus you have the choice of popcorn or a piece of fruit, not just crisps.

I think it’s probably fairly rare for someone to go somewhere like Costa every single day and pay for their lunch there. It would cost a fortune! As a once a week sort of thing I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I think all we can do is make healthy options as often as we can but also still allow for treats too

What do you suggest instead - a cup of water, salad and an apple?

The majority of costa's customers don't really go there because they want to be healthy, it's because they want a treat, and if anyone can afford a Costa meal deal every day then I take my hat off to them.

How is it any different from any supermarket offering you a sandwich, pack of crisps and a can/ bottle of pop ?
I mean - Costa sell coffee. The 'fancy ones' from cappoccino upwards are full of calories and general sweet treats, but this as a meal deal is no worse than most, and probably better than some options.

Is the daily calorific intake based on activity and exercise? So people who aren't active should be eating less.

It's not Costa or the governments responsibility to stop people overeating, it's the individuals.