Let’s not eat so much cake

Marie Antoinette probably never said “let them eat cake” in a heartlessly out-of-touch aristocratic way on being told the people had no bread to eat.

However, it appears that two centuries after she was guillotined, the public at large has taken the French queen’s fictitious advice to heart, as we merrily gorge on cakes, biscuits and other goodies that are now cheaper than at any time in human history. We all know that we shouldn’t and yet we still do.

We also all know that cakes and biscuits contain a lot of sugar, but perhaps not quite how much, so new research on the subject, published by the BMJ medical journal, is useful. Battenburg came out top of the sugar charts with 56.4g for every 100g of cake. The average sugar content of cakes was significantly lower at 36.6g per 100g, but that would still put an adult over the recommended daily intake of 30g.

Major food companies, members of today’s aristocracy, would do well to notice the growing obesity crisis and come up with ways to help we ordinary folk eat a healthier diet – or a food “revolution” might leave them behind.