Interesting Facts

According to a study by consumer watchdog Which?, some salads and sandwiches from supermarkets and cafe chains contain more calories, and higher levels of fat and sugar than fast food like pizza and burgers. (They identified the 8 worst offenders as Caffè Nero, Pret a Manger, Marks & Spencer and Asda. For example:- Caffè Nero’s brie and bacon panini - 624 calories vs McDonald’s quarter-pounder with cheese - 518 calories Pret a Manger’s cheddar and pickle sandwich on artisan bread contained 17.6g of sugar and nearly half an adult’s RDA  (recommended daily allowance) of saturated fat. Marks and Spencer's chicken and smoked bacon salad sandwich on soft multigrain farmhouse bread - 694 calories vs Pizza Express margherita pizza - 683 calories Asda’s creamy piri-piri chicken pasta salad contained more fat than Burger King’s bacon and cheese Whopper.

You would have to run 4 miles to burn of the calories in a 500ml bottle of Coke. (Scientists are calling for this information to be printed on food labels, instead of the usual calorie count. (Do you ever read it?) For example: To burn off a double cheeseburger would take a 5.6-mile hike. Would you be likelier to chose a smaller one and go on a 2.6 mile walk instead?) 

According to a survey conducted by Travelodge, a third of British children think that Easter, one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, is a celebration of the Easter Bunny's birthday. (Bless.  Maybe they should read our culture page on  Easter . The real problem is that the average child in the UK will clock up 10,000 calories whilst binging on chocolate Easter eggs and sweeties over the Easter weekend.)

According to a study carried out by researchers from University College London and the University of Cambridge, central heating in the home may be making us fat. (The article suggests that the increase in indoor temperature due to heating the house has reduced the calories we use to stay warm; leading us to store the excess energy as body fat.  It goes on to says that the “thermal comfort zone” provided by modern living may be a factor in the Western world’s increasing rates of obesity. I'm sorry, but I've been without working central heating for a couple of weeks now, and I haven't lost an ounce, in fact I've been comfort eating and stuffing my face with chocolate, so I want my central heating back. (BTW - The engineer is here! Yippee! Fingers crossed.) ) 

According to the World Cancer Research Fund some coffee drinks bought in high street cafes can have as many calories as a full meal. (They found that iced coffees at Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee generally contained over 200 calories, but some had as many as 450. The worst offender was the Starbuck's venti dark berry mocha frappuccino blended coffee with whipped cream, which came in at a whopping 561 calories. The recommended daily intake is 2,500 calories a day for men, and 2,000 a day for women.)

Some supermarket salads in the UK contain more fat and calories than a Big Mac! (Research by consumer magazine Which? found that a Big Mac and medium fries contains 820 calories and 40g of fat, and an Atlantic prawn marie rose salad, that was tested from Morrisons, contained 855 calories and 66.3g of fat. A Big Mac on its own contains 490 calories and 24g of fat, and a chicken caesar pasta salad from Asdo contained 683 calories, and the fat content was 41.3g. That is almost as much fat as 7 Cadbury's Creme Eggs!)

Olympic swimmers can consume more than 12,000 calories a day while training - and not get fat. (Michael Phelp's diet consists of the following:- Breakfast: Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee Lunch: Half a kilo (one pound) of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks Dinner: Half a kilo of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks. I think I just put on a couple of pounds just reading this list.)

Beer has fewer calories than a similar measure of wine, milk or fruit juice. (There you go. The diet is back on track.)

At -40° Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing. (Brrrr - That's a high price to pay for losing a bit of weight.)