Politics
Is your snack craving out of control? From 4 Jelly Babies to 5 squares of Dairy Milk, the portions we SHOULD be eating
MOST of us love a snack, a packet of crisps here or a biscuit pick-me-up there, sometimes these tasty treats can help beat our hunger pangs.
But you can have too much of a good thing and experts say that most of us don’t stick to the recommended portions when it comes to snacks.
Gary Stone – The SunMany people would easily finish a bag of Jelly Babies but one portion is actually just four Jelly Babies[/caption]
Gary Stone – The SunThe recommended serving of Doritos that you’re meant to have from a sharing bag[/caption]
Gary Stone – The SunYou’re only recommended to have four fingers of the delicious Cadbury biscuits[/caption]
According to a study by PoundToy, portion sizes are often way smaller than you think – for example, we’re only supposed to eat FOUR jelly babies, but most of us happily munch through most of a pack.
And Cadbury say we should stop at just five squares of Dairy Milk – making those family-sized bars suddenly appear much more ominous.
If you do like to snack though, experts say you can do this – but that it’s all about smart snacking.
Clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer at multivitamin supplement website www.feelaliveuk.com told The Sun: “If you choose a snack high in sugar such as a cookie, you’ll be taking on excess calories and you’ll feel hungry again an hour later, plus they are very low in essential nutrients.”
So have you been unknowingly chomping away on bigger portions than you should be?
Check out our handy guide to see much you should actually be eating…
Most read in Health And Fitness
Jelly Babies
Recommended serving: 4 sweets
Calories: 87 calories
Fat: Less than 0.1g
Sugar: 20g
Doritos Cool Original
Recommended serving: 30g (one small multi-pack bag or just over half a Grab Bag)
Calories: 149
Fat: 7.7g
Sugar: 0.8g
Asda Extra Special White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake
Recommended serving: 1/6th (small slice)
Calories: 312
Fat: 17g
Sugar: 24g
Kellogg’s Cornflakes
Recommended serving: 30g (small bowl)
Calories: 113
Fat: 0.3g
Sugar: 2.4g
Coca-Cola
Recommended serving: 250ml (half a small bottle)
Calories: 105
Fat: 0g
Sugar: 27g
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fingers
Recommended serving: 4 fingers or 21g
Calories: 108
Fat: 5.7g
Sugar: 6g
Haribo Starmix
Recommended serving: 25g (around 7 sweets)
Calories: 86
Fat: Less than 0.1g
Sugar: 12g
Cadbury Twirl Bites
Recommended serving: 7 bites
Calories: 119
Fat: 6.5g
Sugar: 13g
Angel Cake
Recommended serving: 1/8th of a cake
Calories: 146
Fat: 6.2g
Sugar: 11g
Hula Hoops Big Hoops (50g bag)
Recommended serving: 25g (one small bag or half a Big Hoops bag)
Calories: 125
Fat: 6g
Sugar: Less than 0.5g
Cadbury Dairy Milk (200g bar)
Recommended serving: 5 chunks or 25g
Calories: 133
Fat: 7.6g
Sugar: 14g
Nestle Kit Kat
Recommended serving: 1x 4 finger bar
Calories: 208
Fat: 10.1g
Sugar: 20g
Snack bosses ‘need to cut tricks of the trade’
Nutritionist Amanda Ursell says:
“It’s packaging genius as far as manufacturers are concerned, to use ‘per portion’ nutrition labels because without doubt, at a quick glance, they frequently fool consumers into thinking the calories mentioned are for the whole pack and we are lulled into eating more than we need, as a result.
It’s only if you have the time, patience and good enough eye-sight, to read the small print, that you realise you have wolfed down three, four or sometimes even five ‘servings’ by eating the whole pack rather than the recommended portion.
I would like to see ‘per portion’ information clearly visible and very easy to interpret.
If the pack has three portions, manufacturers should leave us in absolutely no doubt that one third of this pack is a portion and that this has ‘X, Y or Z’ calories.
How can people take control of their calorie intake if ‘tricks of the trade’ like these continue?
It’s hard enough to count calories, without this common pitfall there to catch us all out.”
KP Original Salted Peanuts
Recommended serving: 30g (around half a small bag)
Calories: 184
Fat: 15g
Sugar: 1.5g
Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup
Recommended serving: 1/2 a tin (200g)
Calories: 102
Fat: 4.3g
Sugar: 9.7g
Heinz Beanz
Recommended serving: 1/2 can (207g)
Calories: 162
Fat: 0.4g
Sugar: 9.8g
Gary Stone – The SunJust a handful of peanuts is the right amount[/caption]
Gary Stone – The SunIt’s recommended you avoid a full bowl of tomato soup[/caption]
Gary Stone – The SunEven a full portion of Baked Beans is too much[/caption]
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