Health experts claim the UK’s obesity crisis is being fuelled by businesses encouraging shoppers to choose larger portions and additional, unhealthy additions to their food. According to the Royal Society for Public Health, consumers are frequently falling victim to the marketing ploy known as ‘upselling’.

Through upselling, businesses such as shops, cafes and restaurants encourage customers to add high-calorie toppings or sides to their meals, or even upgrade to a larger portion. A recent poll of 2000 UK adults taken by the Royal Society for Public Health and Slimming World found that 78% of people experienced this tactic each week.

The research showed that the upsells offered were mostly unhealthy options, with the most common ones including larger coffees, bigger meals, sweets and chocolate, and extra sides such as onion rings and chips. It was found that the average person falling victim to the technique consumed an average of 17000 extra calories a year – enough to gain an extra 5lbs.

 

According to the poll, restaurants were the most common place people experienced upselling, followed by fast-food outlets, supermarkets, coffee shops, and pubs and bars. Those who experienced upselling were, on average, targeted more than twice week. Younger people were also found to be the most susceptible.

 

Liam Smith, aged 25, has lost 6st since recognising that he was eating too much, and now refuses upsells: “Being able to ‘go large’ on a meal for 30p extra was always a no-brainer for me, as was a few pence more for a large cup of hot chocolate, or paying £1 more to turn a single burger into a double.”

 

Royal Society for Public Health chief executive Shirley Cramer believes the industry is pressuring the public into buying extra calories, which add up “without us noticing”. She called for businesses to stop training staff to upsell high-calorie food, and focus instead on healthy alternatives.