 Ice cream? You might as well have a steak |
You may have been tempted by the recent warm weather to indulge in your favourite ice cream as a treat, but you could just as well have tucked into a T-bone steak, jacket potato and sour cream. It sounds shocking, but very few of us are aware of the calorie trap.
We probably know that ice cream and milk shakes contain a lot of fat, but they also contain a staggeringly high number of calories.
We talked to Dr Ian Campbell from the National Obesity Forum
In fact we consume more than two stone in weight of fat every year, and a tub of luxury brand ice cream can contain the equivalent of two day's worth of fat.
Some even have enough calories to wipe out your daily calorific allowance in one go.
So you may be better off tucking into pizzas and burgers than getting caught in the calorie trap.
The Washington based Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has been researching the issue of hidden calories.
It found one of the more extravagant brands of ice cream cone with chocolate topping contained 320 calories and half the daily intake of fat; that's equivalent to a half pound portion of spare ribs.
The ingredients of another desert: coffee ice cream, roasted almonds, fudge, biscuit, peanut butter, and whipped topping; is the equivalent of two pepperoni pizzas or 1180 calories.
 | Fat facts There are 3500 calories to a pound of fat Men should consume a maximum of 2500 calories a day Women should consume 2000 a day We're pre-programmed to enjoy fatty foods When food was scarce, those who could store fat survived Luxury ice creams can contain up to 1270 calories, equivalent to a T-bone steak, potato and sour cream Obesity costs the NHS �500m a year |
That included 26 grammes of saturated fat. The 1180 calories is more than half the daily allowance of 2000 for a woman. The daily calorie intake for a man is about 2500 calories.
CSPI nutritionist Jayne Hurley says: "It's as if these ice cream shops were competing with each other to see who could inflict the greatest toll on our arteries and waistlines."
However a single small serving of ordinary vanilla ice cream only 65 calories and 2 grammes of saturated fat.
Information
Dr Ian Campbell who is a GP and works for the National Obesity Forum says he's not surprised about the amount of fat and high calorie content of foods.
Even yoghurts and fizzy drinks contain high calories, but he wants food packaging to be made clearer.
At the moment it's only compulsory to put nutritional information on foods that claim to be of nutritional benefit.
Many manufacturers do label their products, but up to one in three of us are counting the calories at any time, although many don't take snacks into consideration, so the calories keep adding up.
Craving
We have a natural tendency to crave fatty foods. Fat can enhance the flavour of food and should amount to a third of our daily consumption, but we should minimise saturated fats.
What health campaigners want is clearer labelling on food packaging with strongly worded warnings.
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