Food for thought

Cinema snacks contain shocking levels of calories and fat - with a single tub of popcorn exceeding a woman's entire recommended daily fat intake, a study by Which? magazine revealed today.

A standard-sized tub of sweet popcorn contains 1,260 calories and 79.6g of fat -- far more than the 70g maximum suggested for a woman each day.  A cola has up to 320 calories and a hotdog with mustard and ketchup contains 580 calories and up to 3.2g of salt.

Eating a portion of nachos provides more than half an adult's maximum salt allowance as it has 1,030 calories, 56.5g of fat and 3.1g of salt.

 

Which? is now calling for nutritional labelling on cinema snacks so consumers can make choices and know exactly what they're tucking into.

A spokeswoman said: “The results are shocking, particularly in the popcorn because it is often viewed as a light food. Many restaurant chains will be putting calorie information on their menus from September and we think cinema chains should do the same.

“We are not trying to be really boring and say that you shouldn't have these treat but it is all about making people think. Obesity rates are really high at the moment.

“If they realise what is in these snacks then they might think twice about eating them. We want people to have the information they need to make that choice.”