We all love a cheeky dessert here and there. Even the healthiest of people have to admit the wide range of M&S cookies fulfill our intense sugar cravings.
But, with recent discussions online about the statement that roughly 38,000 steps would have to be taken to walk off a pack of those addicting delectables, awareness of the health risks that come with this discourse should be made apparent.
Content from the M&S TikTok page, presented by Director of Product Development Kathryn Turner, is entertaining and even exciting to see the new festive drops, but does have to be consumed with caution. Yes, it is just a video displaying new foods, but this leads to feeding into obsessions with unhealthy confectionery that people may not realise they have.
It could also be suggested that this way of advertising food bypasses the UK law legislated in January this year, banning the advertisements of ‘junk food’ before 9pm on TV. Although this point isn’t life threatening to the British public, it does lead into more serious conversations on the regulation of unhealthy foods.
For years we’ve been told to have a balanced diet and to get enough exercise. But, in this economy and with the struggles of time management, people don’t always have the resources to make nutrient packed meals, especially given we all just want a sugary treat sometimes.
Thus, there’s no surprise as to why health conditions like diabetes had been recorded to impact roughly 4.3 million people in the UK. If we look at the M&S cookies for example, a standard milk chocolate cookie has roughly 28g of sugar.
Now that might not be a bother to some people but, if we’re being honest, we don’t just eat one and move on, we’re gonna try and eat at least half of the pack.
This can be alright as a regulated treat, but with the constant algorithm push of these adverts, and in some cases where we might turn to food as a comfort, it starts to become a vicious cycle. This cycle becomes especially risky for not only those who may be at risk of diabetes, but also women who might have PMOS/PCOS.
This condition impacts a vast amount of women, yet many won’t realise they may suffer from its conditions due to underdiagnosis in the UK, showing a lack of care for women’s health yet again. It can cause issues that involve hair growth, fertility, moods, and periods.
So, why is this important? And how on earth does this link to M&S cookies? Well, the links between insulin resistance and PCOS are very close, leading to hormone imbalances in the ovaries and, in general, an insulin resistance that can lead to more dangerous conditions, like Type 2 diabetes.
It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend that because women are being underdiagnosed, while being influenced by all of these adverts revolving around addicting sugary foods, there has become a large spike in women developing diabetes.
By no means am I a certified health professional, but we can all understand that the seriousness of diabetes isn’t exactly something we want to experience, especially if there’s a way to lessen such worries.
In relation to those M&S cookies and the obsession people have formed for Kathryn Turner, with comment sections treating her like the modern day Diana, it goes to show that there is a real danger to this normalisation of unhealthy foods being constantly shown without realising its influence online.
This shouldn’t come off as a hate piece on sugary foods, I’m an avid M&S dessert lover myself, but it is clear that we should take more care with what we consume and how marketing tactics can become risky for our health. With all that said, does anyone fancy a cuppa and a cookie...?