Fast meals intentionally designed to addict Brits as ‘most addictive burger’ ever launched
The ‘Big Secret’ burger, fries and milkshake have been deliberately engineered to show how fast food brands hook customers, with billions spent on health-related issues
The UK has a major issue(Image: Mike Kemp, In Pictures via Getty Images)
A fresh campaign has been unveiled to reveal how fast food is deliberately designed to addict the nation – a dependency that’s draining the British healthcare system of an estimated £67 billion annually through related health issues.
To highlight precisely how fast food giants intentionally ensnare customers, recipe box company Gousto has developed ‘The Big Secret’ – a theatrical and highly addictive burger meal that exposes what truly lurks behind some of Britain’s most beloved fast foods.
The burger, which remains unavailable to consumers due to health risks, initially looks like a standard fast food offering – a bacon cheeseburger, chips, and a vanilla and strawberry milkshake.
Yet The Big Secret has been purposefully crafted to illustrate how British fast food is constructed to fuel desires and excessive eating at the cost of lasting wellbeing.
This emerges as UCL economists at Bloomsbury Policy Lab uncover the harmful health impacts tied to regular fast food consumption.
Their research shows that the danger of diet-linked ailments including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is significantly heightened by frequent fast food intake, along with the UPFs it contains, potentially draining the British health system of up to £67 billion each year*. Drawing on expertise from RD Clare Thornton-Wood, ‘The Big Secret’ – packed with 165% of the recommended daily salt intake, more than triple the daily sugar allowance and exceptionally high saturated fat levels – employs the exact same strategies fast food giants use to hijack the brain’s reward pathways.
A key weapon is the ‘bliss point’ – that perfect combination of sugar, salt and fat designed to maximise pleasure whilst postponing satiety, triggering a dopamine hit that naturally drives consumers back for more.
Through chemical boosters and texture engineering, the outcome represents what might be Britain’s most habit-forming burger meal.
It packs over 2,100 calories into a format that’s quick and effortless to consume, with each element classified as ultra-processed and comprising 90 ingredients spanning the burger, chips and shake.
January traditionally marks the season for New Year pledges, yet fresh consumer research commissioned by Gousto reveals just how challenging it proves for Britons to resist addictive fast food.
In December 2024, nearly one-fifth (19%) of Brits vowed to cook from scratch whilst a further 22% intended to delete their delivery apps.
Fast-forward a year to December 2025, and a quarter (25%) of Britons made New Year resolutions to abandon their fast food habits – yet by the close of the first weekend of 2026, almost two-fifths (37%) had already surrendered. The research exposed just how challenging it is for consumers to make well-informed decisions.
A staggering 74% of UK adults grasp that elevated levels of fat, salt, and sugar are detrimental to health, yet many harbour suspicions that their beloved fast foods are more harmful than they imagine (57%) – uncovering a significant knowledge deficit that conceals the genuine health dangers lurking within these dishes.
Compounding the problem, obtaining clear and easily understood information remains problematic, with nearly half (46%) admitting they wouldn’t know where to search.
Clare demonstrates how fast food corporations craft meals to bypass satiety signals and complicate moderation efforts, stating: “When people struggle to cut back on fast food, it’s rarely about a lack of willpower. Many fast food meals are carefully engineered to stimulate the brain’s reward system, combining fats, salt, sugar and additives to hit the ‘bliss point’ and trigger dopamine responses that reinforce cravings rather than satisfy hunger.
“While these ingredients are approved for singular use, the way they’re layered together can make moderation much harder – particularly for those trying to eat more healthily. The challenge isn’t the individual, it’s the food environment they’re navigating.”
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