Our obesity-inducing obsession with such sweet treats prompts British Heart Foundation fund-raisers to issue choc ban bid for next month's DECHOX, here accompanied by timely cacao quiz and illustrated by Kym Marsh past photo shoot campaign support.
The healthy eating call comes as survey results reveal over a third of Yorkshire folk have eaten chocolate as part of EVERY meal in a single day
Almost six in ten people (56%) across the county don't know how many calories are in their favourite confectionery bar while around half (48%) aren't aware of calorific content of fave cakes like choc chip muffins.
Over two fifths in the region (41%) feel guilty after over-indulging on sweet treats while over a third (35%) concede chocolate is increasingly sneaking its way into every meal of the day.
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It's no surprise then six per cent of sweet-tooth local folk accept their choc habit has officially got out of hand while more than a fifth (21%) resort to secretly scoffing chocolate.
Shock choc stats also reveal regionally we begin to become more health-conscious in our 20s, women starting to feel guilty about gorging from 24, men from 28.
BHF heart health dietitian Tracy Parker said: “It’s no secret that we’re a nation of chocoholics. While its fine to treat yourself now and again, this survey shows how chocolate is becoming commonplace in our diets – almost from the moment we wake up to when we go to sleep.
“By challenging yourself to a DECHOX this March you can help eliminate temptation whilst raising funds for our life saving research. By ditching chocolate, you can kick start some healthier habits, and help fund the breakthroughs that will see us beat heart disease for good.”
Each year estimated 160,000 lives are cut short by heart and circulatory disease – one every three minutes!
Even though over a quarter of people (26%) rank chocolate as hardest guilty pleasure to give up, there is still hope for our region, clearly infatuated with sweet stuff.
Over two thirds (67%) of us remain confident we can give up choc for a month (67%), which bodes well for March sponsor money toward life-saving heart disease research.
After 18,000 DECHOXERS last year amassed incredible £860,000, you can this year sign up at www.bhf.org.uk/dechox, follow campaigners on Facebook and meet fellow sweet treat beaters using #DECHOX hashtag.