As thoughts start to turn to Christmas, and the calorie laden food we consume over the festive period, government are advising us to be aware of the additional calories hidden in our alcoholic drinks.
In a recent survey 87% of people polled accurately guessed how many calories were in fast food such as cheeseburgers and pizzas, whilst only 50% of people knew the calories contained in various alcoholic drinks, believing the calories to be much lower than they actually are.
It may surprise you to know that a 25ml measure of spirits has more calories than a 25ml measure of single cream! And with a pint of lager coming in at between 240-250 calories that’s equivalent to eating a slice of pizza, a sobering thought as 68% of people polled regularly consume 1000-2500 calories in alcohol per week on top of their normal food intake.
With obesity becoming such a key issue for the UK, government have agreed ‘responsibility deals’ with major supermarkets such as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s all agreeing to display calorie content on alcoholic drinks. These responsibility deals are now being extended to pub chains who will start displaying calorie counts on their drinks menus, as they currently do on their food menus, by the start of 2015.
