Don’t roll out the eggs too early

We are a land of Easter Egg lovers, so much so that entire supermarket aisles are dedicated to the sweet treats but are we overdoing it?

That is the fear of health experts who believe the obsession with stuffing our faces with brittle cocoa-based products is turning us into a nation of fatties.

The National Obesity Forum has warned that some of the best known brands of eggs contain as much as 17 times the recommended daily amount of sugar for young children.

You may or may not know that it is advised that youngsters, aged between four and six, consume no more than 19g of sugar while one giant egg is full of 330g of sugar. It doesn’t matter how sweet your tooth is, that is one hell of a lot of the white stuff - enough even to give Willy Wonka a headache.

Manufacturers argue that the eggs they churn out by their millions are meant to be savoured over time and not to be consumed in one go.

To many, that well rehearsed line sounds like a textbook example of corporate info-waffle, spouted by people who either don’t have children or, if they do, have hired help to manage their daily calorie intake.

Nearly every parent I know attempts to adhere to the policy of moderation when it comes to food that isn’t fruit or broccoli but, in reality, this isn’t always an option.

There can’t be many parents who could honestly tell you that their little darlings never consume more than the recommended amount of sugar, simply because the stuff seems to be everywhere. Yes, parents have the ultimate responsibility when it comes to what our children put in their mouths but we all need help from big business.

The argument against the early availability of Easter eggs is an old one but one that has a lot of merit. I don’t know about you, but I have never really considered buying eggs in February or early March as I am still recovering from the relentless onslaught that is Christmas.