An Observational Study of the Energy and Sugar Content of Drinks and Snacks Available in UK Coffee Shops and Cafés

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article “An Observational Study of the Energy and Sugar Content of Drinks and Snacks Available in UK Coffee Shops and Cafés” aims to examine the proportion of drinks and snacks offered by major UK coffee shop chains that exceed the NHS and Public Health England maximum recommended intakes for energy and sugar. The topic of the study is highly relevant to public health and aligns well with the scope of the journal.

The Introduction is clear and coherent, emphasizing the crucial role of snacking in overall energy intake and weight status. The Materials and Methods section provides sufficient detail regarding the study design and applied methodology. The inclusion and exclusion criteria for coffee shop chains and food items are well defined, and the study limitations are appropriately discussed. All data were statistically analyzed using suitable analytical methods.

The Results are clearly presented, well organized, and systematically illustrated in four figures and one table.

However, I would not recommend the presentation of results related to the mean energy or carbohydrate intake by brand, as the study’s limitations prevent the inclusion of coffee chains that did not provide nutritional data for their snacks (e.g., Figures 1 and 4, Table 2). Such brand-specific comparisons could lead to speculative discussion and unintentionally serve as a promotional platform for certain brands perceived as offering “healthier snacks,” which could be misleading.

I would therefore recommend that coffee brands be coded or anonymized within the Results and Discussion sections to avoid potential bias.

Taking into consideration the overall good quality of the work, as well as the interesting and important topic, I recommend the article be accepted for publication after major revisions.

Author Response

Please see the attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an interesting article with clear relevance to public health, as it raises awareness about the energy and sugar content of drinks and snacks commonly available in UK coffee shops and cafés. The study addresses an important topic, given the role of sugary beverages and energy-dense snacks in excess calorie consumption and obesity risk. By highlighting the nutritional profile of popular offerings, the article provides valuable insight that could inform both consumers and policymakers in their efforts to promote healthier dietary choices.

Some suggestions:

1. While the study compares the sugar content of drinks and snacks with the daily recommended maximum of 30 g of free sugars, it should be noted that there is no official guideline specifying an acceptable sugar content per individual snack or drink. For practical purposes, some studies consider a threshold of around 15 g of free sugar per snack or drink, which helps ensure that total daily intake remains within the recommended limit. Clarifying this point would help readers better interpret the findings in the context of public health recommendations.

2. Introduction, line 49: Consider providing more detail on the sources of excess calories in the diet. Highlighting typical contributors, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, and restaurant foods, could strengthen the rationale for the study.

3. Results section: It would be helpful to clarify the portion sizes of drinks in milliliters, as this affects the interpretation of energy and sugar content. Additionally, the term ‘standard coffee’ should be clearly defined. Does it include milk, sugar, or other additives? Providing these details will make the results more transparent and easier to compare with other studies or dietary recommendations.

Author Response

Please see the attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors, 

thank You for providing the interesting paper about sugar in drinks and foods from the UK coffee chains. 

In the current times when average working people have less time for a quality break or traditional lunch time break the delivery services of coffee and snack shops overbridged this gap and satisfy the consumers demand.  Also a lot of consumers just grab their coffee on the run and go on with their work often eating and drinking without real consiousness . 

This is something to address in the introduction, why some many chain thrive and why consumers use their services (consumer behavior) 

Many survey examples of healthy people that priorly did not consume refined sugars testify that only after 2 to 3 month of high suger diet (30 or more gram daily) result in many health issues from fatty liver to prediabetes. 

So if for years a persons consumes high amounts of sugar the health problems will arrive sooner or later and therefore your paper will be of interest to readers. 

The paper has an appropriate introduction part and it proovides sufficient background and has relevant references. 

The research design is appropriate and the sample as well. 

Through teh description of beverages and snacks from line 116 onwards, the question is follwing: 

how much coffee we get in all chains

due to the fact that one chain may have  3dL coffee and another 2 dL some calories differ

how did You standardise portions ?

The nutritional information collected included the total energy (kcal), carbohydrate 127 (g) and ‘of which sugar’ (g) content of drinks and snacks. Data was collected on all 128
"available portion sizes, such as small, medium and large drinks. Data was also collected 129 on any dairy alternative milks, including oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk and soy 130 milk. The drinks analysed in this study included both hot and cold drinks, such as coffee, 131 tea, hot chocolate and milkshakes. However, pre-bottled drinks that are not produced by 132 the coffee chain were excluded. 133"

There is no table or graph that would indicate 

 a small portion has x valories and sugar

a midlle ...

a large ...

A coffee has x calories and sugar

a hot chocolate Y calories and sugar

Hoe can we measure if for example the chocolate in one chain has whipped cream and in another chain only milk?

Furthermore, 

how many grams has a blueberry muffin in all chains

teh calory content may differ because one chan has a 30 gram muffin whie another may have 50 gram

so the consumer wouldeat 2 in the firts and 1 in the secons chain so eventually gaining more calories in a certain chain 

of course on top of all the costs in pounds is not calculated. 
explain this isue in your lines "For the purpose of this study a snack was defined as a small portion of food that is 134 typically consumed between meals ⁽²⁶⁾."...

In conclusions compare your results with other authors and provide your opinion about this type of fast food (coffee) trends that are fine for the chians but a health risk for the long term consumer.

Techically all the references should be in brackets   ⌈ xy ⌋

therefore check them through the whole text. 

kindly, the reviewer

Author Response

Please see the attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

All my recommendations are well addressed in the revised version of the manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

No further sugestions