Exterminate 850-calorie Dalek cake
Parents outraged by sugar-laden recipes on CBBC say. . .
HEALTH campaigners and parents have branded the BBC ‘irresponsible’ for targeting young viewers with sugar-laden recipes despite soaring childhood obesity levels.
Critics claim the CBBC channel website, which is aimed at children aged between six and 12, encourages them to make sweet treats bursting with calories.
One of the worst offenders is the Blue Peter chocolate Dalek cupcake, which contains up to 850 calories – more than three McDonald’s burgers and as much sugar as eight jam doughnuts. This is about half the daily recommended intake for a child.
An American-style ‘freak shake’ by 14-year-old Tilly Ramsay, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, can contain an astonishing 1,600 calories. Although it is intended for sharing, the shake includes ice cream, a doughnut, a brownie, a giant cookie, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Parents have also taken to Twitter to complain about Penfold’s ‘No Crumbs!’ Doughnut In A Mug, based on the popular Danger Mouse show.
One said: ‘I would love to see the calorific and nutritional analysis on this one for small children.’ Another said: ‘It’s also interesting to see this on the BBC given their own reporting about the use of characters in the promotion of unhealthy snacks.’
The Danger Mouse dessert, made with butter, sugar, and jam, is estimated to contain more saturated fat than a child should consume in a day. Its 63g of sugar is the equivalent of nine jam doughnuts. The BBC’s own Good Food website says children aged between seven and ten should not consume more than 24g of sugar a day.
Noel Janis-Norton, a behaviour specialist and founder of t he Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting Centre in London, said the recipes ‘undermine and make life difficult’ for parents trying to teach children to eat well. ‘You would expect the BBC to know better than to be putting out unhealthy recipes,’ she said. Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, added: ‘It is irresponsible of the BBC to promote these recipes.
‘They are loaded with unhealthy ingredients and run a coach and horses through the best nutritional advice and practice for children.’
Last week it was revealed that 22,000 children will leave primary school seriously obese this year.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘ The CBBC website features a balance of recipes and healthy eating content for children. Across the whole of the website, we believe that we have a good variety of recipe suggestions, some of which are intended as occasional treats or for sharing on special occasions.’