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One Pint = A Slice Of Cake And Other Alcohol Calorie Comparisons That Will Have You Crying Into Your Wine Glass

Calls for alcohol to be labelled like food as it's revealed most of us don't have a clue how many calories are in our drinks

Most of us will happily sink a few pints after work but would we be so happy to chow down on three, four or perhaps even more slices of chocolate cake without a second thought?

Probably not, but in calorie terms, that's exactly what we're doing, as the average pint of lager contains the same amout as a slice of delicious chocolate cake.

180 calories: A pint of lager or a slice of cake (REX)
180 calories: A pint of lager or a slice of cake (REX)

And now experts are calling for alcoholic drinks to be marked with calorie content in the way food is, to make sure we all know what liquid calories we're consuming without even realising.

“I don’t think they [consumers] think about it,” said Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), which has made the suggestions.

“We go out at lunchtime and look at the sandwiches on display. We know and understand what the labelling means. We pick the sandwich or salad on the basis of the calories. But people don’t think about that when they go out on a Friday night.”

Do we ever consider how many calories we're drinking? (Giphy)
Do we ever consider how many calories we're drinking? (Giphy)

And the RSPH has evidence of our ignorance. It polled 2,000 people and found that the majority of us just don't know how many calories are in our drinks.

Almost all (80 per cent) of us guessed incorrectly the calorie content of a glass of wine and 60 per cent didn't know how many calories where in a pint of lager.

Experts insist that our alcohol consumption is contributing to the obesity epidemic in the UK, and that while we might stear clear of a burger, calorific pudding or packet of crisps, we don't have the same attitude towards a glass of wine or two or three, despite them being similarly high in calories.

We had a look at foods that have the same calorie content as our favourite drinks and were horrified. For example, there's no way we'd eat five chocolate doughnuts on a Saturday night, but we would totally say yes to five vodka tonics over the same time period - and not feel bad about it.

But here are the sobering comparisons...

 

450 calories: A Pina Colada or a cheeseburger (REX)
450 calories: A Pina Colada or a cheeseburger (REX)
143 calories: A double vodka tonic or a chocolate doughnut (REX)
143 calories: A double vodka tonic or a chocolate doughnut (REX)
185 calories: One large glass of white wine, or a slice of pizza (REX)
185 calories: One large glass of white wine, or a slice of pizza (REX)
200 calories: One large glass of red wine, or a Cornetto (REX)
200 calories: One large glass of red wine, or a Cornetto (REX)

It's starting to look like we consume our entire daily amount of calories on a Friday night after work.

Would your drinking patterns change if there were calories on the booze?

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