 Chocolate is Britain's favourite confectionery, the report says |
Britain's older people eat more chocolate and sweets than children, according to a new report. Over-55s eat �690m of confectionery a year, compared with �574m eaten by children aged up to 14, said data analysts Datamonitor.
Older people accounted for 21% of confectionery sales compared with 17% for children, the report said.
It said there was a "growing tendency" to view confectionery as a "premium, indulgent and adult product".
Luxury chocolates
Chocolate was the UK's most popular confectionery, with �430m-worth eaten each year by older people and �392m-worth by under-14s.
Report author John Band said there was "a growing tendency to view confectionery as a premium, indulgent and adult product, moving away from traditional sweet shop favourites towards more luxurious chocolates".
Attempts to sell cereal bars as a healthier alternative to sweets were "not particularly successful", the report also said.
Only 3% of the amount spent on confectionery products for children went on cereal bars, Datamonitor found.
This compared with 68% on chocolate, 24% on sweets and 5% on chewing gum.
"It seems that parents prefer to limit their children's confectionery intake rather than trying to buy healthier confectionery products," Mr Band said.
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