A Large Popcorn At Cinemas Can Have 1,800 Calories

The Food Standards Agency is urging cinemas to provide calorie information on their snacks and to cut down on portion sizes.

A large bag of sweet popcorn could have as much as 1,800 calories, while the same size bag of just salted popcorn does not fare much better at 1,779 calories. Although the large bags are intended to be shared there are too many people who eat the large portion by themselves. The Food Standards Agency's chief executive Tim Smith said, "There is a myth that popcorn is calorie-free, but that is not the case. It is a concern to us. Portion sizes are also a big issue, and there seems to be increasingly big packs on sale."

Popcorn isn't the only food of concern. Hot dogs contain about 650 calories, nachos with cheese could contain as much as 716 calories and a large Coca Cola has 328 calories, according to nutritionists.

During a test trial of 21 food companies listing calories on their products it was learned that people were choosing lower calorie food. Smith related, "Where there is choice between a chicken salad with 420 calories and one with 320 calories they are picking the lower one. One company has also told us that there is no profit impact on providing the information in cafés or on front of packs and there may even be a competitive advantage." FSA wants support from cinemas and other entertainment venues in tackling the obesity crisis, and that these venues need to step up and take responsibility for portion sizes. New research shows that by 2020 eight out of ten men and about seven out of ten women will be overweight or obese.