Children in Ireland are set to eat around five million Easter eggs this weekend, a new survey has found.
One average-sized Easter egg contains approximately 23 teaspoons of sugar, which is almost four times a child’s recommended daily amount.
According to the Irish Times, recent research conducted by the Irish Heart Foundation found that kids across the country will eat an average of four eggs over the Easter holidays, with about one in five getting six eggs or more.
The organisation said that kids are facing an “incessant bombardment”of junk food advertisements – which has ended up distorting the idea of what a healthy diet looks like.
A spokesperson for the foundation said that it was about moderation rather than overconsumption.
Janis Morrissey, head of health promotion with the Irish Heart Foundation, explained:
“Easter eggs are a traditional treat and nobody is saying children shouldn’t get them.
“The problem is overconsumption that is being driven by the pester power and temptation overload created by excessive marketing and clever promotions directed at children.”
“Children’s health is being unnecessarily compromised by companies whose sole objective is to get them to consume as much chocolate as possible.
“All this is happening in the midst of a child obesity crisis where children as young as eight are presenting with high blood pressure and young people are showing early signs of heart disease once only seen in middle-aged men.”
The foundation had the survey conducted in partnership with their Stop Targeting Kids campaign, which aims to protect children’s health through strict controls – particularly on digital marketing, which remains unregulated in spite of clear evidence of its powerful influence over children’s food choices.
