Children 'eat 5½lbs of chocolate at Easter'

Published on Thursday 1 April 2010 21:53

CHILDREN aged between ten and 14 will eat an average of 2½kg, or 5½lbs, of chocolate over the Easter holiday – taking in nearly 13,000 calories and 650 grams of fat.

A poll of 2,000 people suggested children could get as many as 13 Easter eggs each, with a typical 200g egg containing 990 calories and 50 grams of fat.

Julian Chamberlain, managing director of Retail Active, which carried out the survey, said: "Families with two adults in their 40s and two children under 14 could have an amazing cumulative total of 30 Easter eggs in the household over the holiday.

"Seventy-seven per cent of adults allow their children to tuck into their Easter egg binge first thing on Easter morning – before having any breakfast or even a drink.

"Only 3 per cent of the people polled said they look at the nutritional content of Easter eggs and this means they may be unaware of the huge calorie and fat intake. The typical ten to 14 year-old will eat 2.6kg of chocolate; that's 12,870 calories and 650 grams of fat."

He said 74 per cent of parents and carers said their children ate at least three-quarters of all the chocolate they received before the end of the bank holiday. Only 26 per cent rationed their chocolate over a longer period.

The poll found 70 per cent of dieters said they would suspend their regime for Easter.