Many of us have the goal of walking 10,000 steps a day in our quest to stay fit and healthy.
Yet, this isn’t even enough to burn off a Greggs steak bake.
But, as MailOnline’s fascinating guide reveals, it is just about enough to banish all of the calories lurking within a luxurious High Street cookie.
Or, if you’ve not got a sweet tooth, it would stave off five chicken wings at Nando’s, or a ham and cheese toastie from Starbucks.
All three of those options contain fewer than 400 calories, which can, in theory, be blasted away by just 10,000 steps.
Here is a breakdown of some Britain’s best-loved food and how many steps it could take to burn off based on an average height and weight. Eating a Big Mac could cost you 12,325 steps to burn it all off. In comparison, a Greggs sausage roll, which is 329 calories, takes the average person 8,225 steps to burn the calories. Even a cappuccino from Costa is more than 6,600 steps to walk off
This calculation is based on someone being between 5’6 and 5’11 and weighing around 73kg (160lb).
In other words, average height and weight.
A person of this size will burn about about 40 calories every 1,000 steps they take, if they are walking at three miles an hour.
That is according to an online steps to calories calculator based on research by the American College of Sports Medicine.
The 2011 study looked at how many calories are burned in one step. It produced the calorie numbers by taking the average calories burned at walking speeds from 2 to 4 miles per hour.
The energy you burn while walking depends on your height, weight, pace and the number of steps you take.
The faster you walk, the faster your heart beats and the more calories you burn.
And the heavier you are the fewer steps you will need to take to burn off the extra calories.
The recommended calories intake a day for women is 2,000 calories and 2,500 for men, according to the NHS.
MailOnline trawled through the nutritional breakdown of 100 of the UK’s best-loved foods and drinks, ranging from the menu of McDonalds to the aisles of Tesco.
Of the randomly-selected products, the most calorific was Pizza Hut’s margherita individual stuffed crust 11-inch (1,380 calories).
This, according to the calculations, and if you chose to hog it to yourself, would require a mammoth 34,500 steps. That in itself would take, on average, around 5 hours and 15 minutes.
A Big Mac (493 cals) would cost you roughly 12,325 steps, if you wanted to burn it all off.
HOW TO STAY HEALTHY THROUGH EXERCISE
Adults are encouraged to do some type of physical activity every day. Exercise just once or twice a week can reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke.
Over-18s should aim to:
- Do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least two days a week. This includes carrying heavy shopping bags, yoga, pilates and lifting weights.
- Do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week. Moderate activity includes brisk walking, riding a bike, dancing and doubles tennis. Vigorous activity includes running, swimming and riding a bike fast or on hills.
- Spread exercise evenly over four to five days a week, or every day
- Reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity
Adults can also achieve weekly activity target with:
- Several short sessions of very vigorous intensity activity. This includes lifting heavy weights, circuit training and sprinting up hills.
- A mix of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous intensity activity
Source; NHS
For comparison, a Greggs sausage roll (329 cals) would require 8,225 steps to fully banish.
A cinnamon bun from Gail’s amounts to 15,050 steps (602 cals) and a double berry muffin from Pret (441 cals) is close to 11,025 steps.
Drinks are not much better, either.
Unsurprisingly, one of the most calorific is a hot chocolate. A large one from Costa (524 cals) requires about 13,100 steps if you want to march it off.
Around 5,300 steps are needed to burn a large Coca Cola at McDonald’s (212 cals).
A similar number — 5,250 — are needed to power through a pint of Guinness (210 cals).
But a 175ml glass of Sauvignon Blanc is 133 calories and 3,325 steps to burn off.
Small snacks from biscuits to crisps also rack up your daily calorie intake and need a surprising amount of steps to walk off.
Eating just one milk chocolate digestive (83 cals) would need 2,000 steps which is about 18 minutes of walking.
A Jammie Dodger (74 cals) requires 1,850 steps and a KitKat (104 cals) would need to walk 2,600 steps to expel the extra energy.
It’s not just the sweet treat, you would need to walk 5,850 steps to burn off a packet of Walkers ready salted crisps (234 cals).
Personal trainer Matt Roberts, who has helped the likes of Adele, Naomi Campbell and Ellie Goulding, suggests taking the stairs instead of the lift and walking to work as ways of fitting in extra steps.
Mr Roberts said: ‘It’s the quickest way to burn extra calories throughout the day, without setting out a specific training slot in your schedule.
‘With just these small changes, you will be amazed by how many more you can add to your daily count, allowing you to hit even more of the extra 500 plus calories you can burn by reaching or exceeding that 10,000-step goal.’
Registered dietitian Dr Duane Mellor, at Birmingham’s Aston University, warns that we should not feel guilty about the foods we eat and ‘absolve ourselves by doing exercise’.
Instead, he urges people to stick to a healthy and balanced diet and stay active.
He said: ‘Although some may find it beneficial to see the number of steps might be equivalent to certain foods, the key is to look at our overall dietary pattern and seek to enjoy foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar only occasionally, so that we can mostly eat a varied and healthy diet and maintain health through being active as part of our daily lives, not trying to match activity to eating.’
Product Calories Steps One Oreo Vanilla 52kcal 1,300 Mini Babybel 59kcal 1,475 One Jammie Dodger 74kcal 1,850 One Mcvitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuit 83kcal 2,075 Haribo Starmix Mini Bag 85.5kcal 2,137 Nestle Aero chocolate mouse 89kcal 2,225 Tesco green olives with herbs 92kcal 2,300 McDonalds large Fanta 95kcal 2,375 Freddo 95kcal 2,375 5 Tesco pork cocktail sausages 104kcal 2,600 Activia strawberry yoghurt 104kcal 2,600 KitKat 104kcal 2,600 Tesco crumpet 105kcal 2,625 Tesco organic houmous 1/4 pot 107kcal 2,675 Kellogg’s Frosties per 30g 113kcal 2,825 Jacobs Mini Cheddars 117kcal 2,925 Innocent mangoes passion fruit smoothie 127kcal 3,175 One slice of Hovis Original 7 Seeds Bread 131kcal 3,275 Wetherspoon villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc 175ml 133kcal 3,325 Weetabix 2 biscuits 136kcal 3,400 Greggs hash brown 2 pack 151kcal 3,775 Sainsbury’s garlic baguette 1/4 166kcal 4,150 Grande Starbucks latte 175kcal 4,375 KFC 2 hot wings 180kcal 4,500 Cornetto Classic 181kcal 4,525 Cadbury Crunchie 186kcal 4,650 Sainsbury’s fruity hot cross buns 189kcal 4,725 Nature Valley crunchy oats honey cereal bars 196kcal 4,900 Sainsbury’s 4 falafels 199kcal 4,975 Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup 400g can 204kcal 5,100 Lovett’s Family Favourite Profiterole Dessert 208kcal 5,200 Guinness pint 210kcal 5,250 Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons Chocolate Dessert 211kcal 5,275 McDonalds large Coca-Cola 212kcal 5,300 Tesco beer battered onion rings 3 213kcal 5,325 John West tuna Italian light lunch 216kcal 5,400 Tesco extra large vegetable samosa 218kcal 5,450 Taco Bell crunchy taco supreme beef 220kcal 5,500 McCain home chips straight cut 110g 222kcal 5,550 Stella Artois pint 227 kcal 5,675 Mars bar 228kcal 5,700 Walkers ready salted crisps 234kcal 5,850 2 Tesco egg waffles 238kcal 5,950 Doritos Tangy Cheese 240kcal 6,000 Sainsbury’s sultana scones 241kcal 6,025 Higgidy spinach feta red pepper quiche 246kcal 6,150 Burger King 6 chicken nuggets 249.4kcal 6,235 1/4 Tesco quiche lorraine 256kcal 6,400 Sainsbury’s On the Go fish sushi selection 260kcal 6,500 Costa large cappuccino 265kcal 6,625 Tesco scotch egg 265kcal 6,625 Starbucks tall caramel frappuccino 275kcal 6,875 Wendy’s regular vanilla frosty 296kcal 7,400 Costa almond croissant 319kcal 7,975 Pret smashed avo open sandwich 322kcal 8,050 Greggs yum yum 323kcal 8,075 Greggs bacon breakfast roll 329kcal 8,225 Greggs sausage roll 329kcal 8,225 Heinz Baked Beans 415g can 336kcal 8,400 Costa BLT sandwich 393kcal 9,825 Nando’s 5 chicken wings 393kcal 9,825 Starbucks oak smoked ham cheese toastie 394kcal 9,850 Ben’s Cookie milk chocolate chunk 398kcal 9,950 Tesco smoked ham cheddar sandwich 405kcal 10,125 Greggs steak bake 409kcal 10,225 Tesco spicy bean wrap 412kcal 10,300 McDonalds Sausage Egg McMuffin 423kcal 10,575 Tesco tuna sweetcorn pasta 434kcal 10,850 Bachelors Super Noodles Chicken 90g 438kcal 10,950 Sainsbury’s chicken salad sandwich 438kcal 10,950 Pret double berry muffin 441kcal 11,025 McDonalds large fries 444kcal 11,100 Itsu spicy salmon dragon rolls 448kcal 11,200 Taco Bell 7-layer Burrito 467kcal 11,675 Subway footlong The Notorious B.M.T 476kcal 11,900 Wendy’s chili cheese fries 481kcal 12,025 Pukka steak and kidney pie 481kcal 12,025 Big Mac 493kcal 12,325 KFC Kentucky Mayo Twister 520kcal 13,000 Costa large hot chocolate 524kcal 13,100 Subway footlong The Baller 530kcal 13,250 Pukka veggie leek potato pie 553kcal 13,825 Leon grilled halloumi wrap 561kcal 14,025 Nando’s grilled chicken wrap 566kcal 14,150 Wasabi spicy tom yum soup 568kcal 14,200 Ginsters large Cornish pasty 569kcal 14,225 Leon Love Burger 574kcal 14,350 The Real Greek pork skewer souvlaki wrap 585kcal 14,625 Gail’s cinnamon bun 602kcal 15,050 Burger King Whopper 609.2kcal 15,227 Dominoes New Yorker classic crust three slices 644kcal 16,100 Sainsbury’s pepperoni pizza 736kcal 18,400 West Cornwall Pasty Co cheese onion pasty 781kcal 19,525 Wetherspoon traditional breakfast 812kcal 20,300 West Cornwall Pasty Co traditional pasty 847kcal 21,175 Wagamama chicken katsu curry 998kcal 24,950 Five Guys bacon cheeseburger 1,060kcal 26,500 Wendy’s Dave’s Triple Burger 1204kcal 30,100 Wetherspoon freshly battered cod and chips 1303kcal 32,575 Pizza Hut margherita individual stuffed crust 11″ 1380kcal 34,500
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS
• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count
• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain
• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options
• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day
• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide