THE British Heart Foundation (BHF) is throwing down the gauntlet to the residents of Worcestershire in a bid to help raise funds for the charity.

It has come up with the ultimate challenge for anyone in the county with a sweet tooth – to give up chocolate for a month.

The charity, which funds research projects to fight heart disease and campaigns to protect heart health, has issued new figures which it says shows almost half of adults in the West Midlands have lied to their partner about how much chocolate they’re eating.

The BHF polled 3,000 people in the UK and found chocoholics in the West Midlands are going to extraordinary lengths to hide just how much they love their sweet treats.

Chocolate was voted the hardest thing to give up, with over a quarter (28 per cent) of people in the region saying they would find it more difficult to ditch than alcohol, caffeine or even sex!

A third of adults (33 per cent) in the West Midlands said they eat chocolate in secret on their way home from work. One in seven (14 per cent) eat it behind the fridge door or in bed under the covers (15 per cent) while one in nine (12 per cent) wait until their partner leaves the room.

Over two fifths of people surveyed (42 per cent) in the West Midlands said they have hidden chocolate wrappers to disguise how much they’ve eaten and have such a sweet tooth they keep a secret stash of chocolate tucked away for emergencies (46per cent).

Some of the most common chocolate hideaways are in desk drawers at work (28 per cent) and bedside cabinets (19 per cent). One in ten (10 per cent) hide chocolate in the glove compartment of their car.

The charity has launched a new fund-raising campaign called DECHOX challenging people to go cold turkey on chocolate for the month of March. They want people to get sponsorship for saying no to chocolate. Anyone who is interested in doing this challenge can find out more by visiting bhf.org.uk/dechox.

Tracy Parker, heart health dietitian at BHF, said: “It’s amazing the lengths we’ll go to so that we can hide just how much we love our favourite sweet treat.

“A bit of chocolate is fine in moderation but it should be a treat. If you’ve got into the habit of eating a lot of chocolate then, giving it up for a month is a great way to get into healthier habits.”

Polly Shute, fundraising project director at BHF, added: “With so many secret (and not so secret) chocolate eaters in the West Midlands, we hope as many of them as possible will take part in DECHOX this March and encourage all their friends and family to sponsor them. It’s a great way to challenge yourself for charity and help those affected by heart disease.”

Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh is also backing the campaign and urging members of the public to join in. She has personal experience of heart disease - her father had a cardiac arrest aged 49 and had a heart attack two years ago when he was 67. He son David suffered from a heart infection last year.

“That’s why I’m encouraging everyone in the West Midlands to join me and take part in DECHOXTM and give up chocolate for the month of March to help raise money for lifesaving heart research. It’s going to be difficult for people who love chocolate, like me, but we’ll all be in it together and it’s for such a great cause,” she said.