Parents are being persuaded by supermarket special offers to fill their trolleys with bargain-buy junk food. 

That’s according to new research by Cancer Research UK, that shows in Scotland, around nine in 10 parents believe supermarket promotions impact what they buy, with many offers being items that are high in sugar, salt or fat. 

It's a temptation that Dunfermline mum-of-three, Katie Beatt, 34, can understand.

In the video below, Katie discusses with her mum, Susan Shaw, what it's like doing the weekly shop for her husband Mark, and her three sons, Lewis, aged six, Murray, aged four, and two year-old Oscar. 

She said: “I would love it if these unhealthy foods were not on offer at all as I’d be less inclined to buy them. I’m a sucker for an offer. It makes me think, ‘I’ll just get that for the cupboard while it’s on offer’. If you know it’s in the cupboard, you just want to eat it.

“If the offers were on healthy foods instead, then that’s what I would stock up on. It would also help make the weekly shop more affordable. I only buy healthy food for my boys to eat but that can be expensive.”

Cancer Research UK is calling on the Scottish Government to urgently restrict supermarket multi-buy offers and related promotions on unhealthy food to make it easier for people to make healthier choices.

The polling was done by Cancer Research UK to explore some of the possible reasons why Scotland is in the grip of an obesity epidemic.

And with obesity linked to 13 different types of cancer, the leading charity is demanding strong action from the Scottish Government when it publishes its obesity strategy later this year.