My eldest DD (32) loves stuff like that. She works long hours, some days barely eats, is constantly active, but would consider this a treat.
I like going to the Baltic Triangle because there is often a Vegan food pop-up place.
So it's sort of something for everyone.
I bought my children up to eat high sugar foods, occasionally and they've stuck to that. They look after their health.
There's no more sugar in that than the amount that the Adults drank around me in the 70's.
The Culture of eating out has changed, again and again. With the on-set of pub grub, everyone went out. Then arrived an abundance of Take-away places and delivery service, which has now gone to Just Eat etc.
It's shifted again with 'Street Food' and pop-up food places. So to compete, they have a novelty edge.
I don't generally buy in cakes and not everyone that I know, knows their working hours in advance, or wether they will be called into work. So we have oreded deserts when we've met up to watch a Film etc.
We've stopped drinking because some of us are on call, some of us are abstaining/pregnant/on medication/have just stopped. So we get deserts instead, but take in the same calories that we would if we were drinking.
having diet drinks, but eating cake is just managing your diet and making sure that you aren't eating to excess.