Love your coffee break? This could change your daily habits

Do you enjoy a slice of cake with your coffee? New research from Cancer Council NSW may make you think twice before placing your coffee order.

The study surveyed five popular chains including Gloria Jeans, McCafe, Muffin Break, Michel’s Patisserie and The Coffee Club. It was revealed that the common stop to kickstart to your day, could make up nearly half of the recommended daily sugar and fat intake for adults.

Don’t despair, for your standard coffee – long black, flat white, cappuccino – isn’t doing you the harm. Rather, it’s the daily ritual where people are complementing their coffee with a sweet treats or even opting for a tall, flavoured, cream-fluffed drink alternative.

The Cancer Council NSW study revealed that brekky favourites, such as a McCafe banana bread (containing 14 tsp of sugar and 2570 kilojoules of energy), can contain more kilojoules than recommended for in-between-meal snacks.

“We found McCafé’s banana bread contained 14 teaspoons of sugar and 2570 kilojoules — that’s four times the kilojoules that we should be consuming from a between-meal treat. This is about the same as a McDonald’s Big Mac,” said researcher Clare Hughes.

Muffin Break’s coconut chocolate slice contained 47 per cent of an adult’s daily energy requirement, its sticky date cake had 100 per cent of sugar requirement and some muffins had 90 per cent of a daily sugar limit, reports News Limited.

An iced coffee purchased from The Coffee Club contains 39g of saturated fat or the equivalent of 163 per cent of the recommended daily intake.

Even certain hot drinks such as Muffin Break’s chai latte or hot chocolate, can contain nearly half of your daily saturated fat intake.

Researcher Clare Hughes is encouraging these chains to serve smaller, healthier portions of these snacks and beverages, commenting that correcting the daily habit can add up in the long-run. For instance, over the course of a year, eating that dainty slice worth an extra 500kj each day, could add an extra 5kg to your weight.

Hughes commented, “If we can stabilise or decrease obesity levels in Australia, half a million lives could be saved by 2050. That would mean fewer cases of obesity related cancers, such as bowel, endometrial and post-menopausal breast cancer; as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.”

Was your favourite coffee companion implicated in the research? How often do you indulge in coffee and cake?