As soon as it get warm sun-starved Brits start dreaming about days on the beach.
But if you’re worried about how you’ll look in your bikini you might want to step away from the refreshing ice lollies as many of them contain a shocking amount of sugar and calories.
In fact, these summertime treats can range from reasonable to highly indulgent, packing more calories than a large slice of Pepperoni Passion pizza (210 calories) from Dominoes and a pint of cider.
So which frozen treats should you avoid if you are watching your waist line? FEMAIL investigates…
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Summer time treats can range from reasonable to highly indulgent. The worst contender is the Snickers Ice Cream, above, at 337 calories, more than a slice of pepperoni pizza
The worst contender is the delicious Snickers Ice Cream with peanut butter ice cream, caramel, and peanuts with chocolate.
The glorified choc ices contain 337 calories and 13.2g (3.5 tsp) of sugar per 53ml bar, which is more than a slice of pepperoni pizza.
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The second most calorific version available from your supermarket fridge is the Mars Ice Cream, with 275 calories. It also contains 12.4g of sugar (3.5tsp) per 51ml bar.
Nutritionist Sarah Flowers had a word of warning against the frozen snacks – and suggested that sugar content – not calories – should be the focus.
The second most calorific version available from your super market is the Mars Ice Cream, with 275 calories
Magnum ice creams are firm favourites among the UK, but they are one of the most calorific options; a similar treat, the Dairy Milk Swirl Ice Cream, has 270 calories
An Oreo Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream contains three teaspoons of sugar and comes in at 200 calories
She said: ‘The problem with looking at just the calories does not give you an indication of health or if this is going to pile on the pounds.
‘Your body does not treat all calories in the same way. For example, a portion of jelly babies that may contain 300 calories could not compare to a nutrient-dense 300 portion of a salmon salad.
‘If your calories come from protein or fat, you body tends to use them to burn as energy or build muscles. Obviously that depends on the sources of food – fat should be healthy sources and not processed, junk food.’
The World Health Organisation recommends no more than 25g of sugar per day – which is roughly six teaspoon. This is the figure set for an adult.
Vimto’s Mixed Fruit Ice as a mere 87 calories but a whopping 18.8g of sugar per 100ml
The Cadbury Crunchie Blast not only contains 225 calories, it hides six teaspoons of sugar
The Smarties Cone comes in 118 calories, making it lower in calories than other options, but it also contains almost three teaspoons of sugar
SO HOW DOES YOUR ICE LOLLY ADD UP?
ICE CREAM
Snickers Ice Cream
Mars Ice Cream
Wall’s Magnum Almond
Dairy Milk Swirl Ice Cream
Daim Caramel Ice Cream
Wall’s Feast
Cadbury Flake Cones
Cadbury Crunchie Blast
Maltesers Ice Cream
Oreo Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream
Cornetto
Smarties Ice Cream Cones
Calippo
Wall’s Twister
Exotic Solero
Vimto Mixed Fruit Ices
Nestlé Fab
Wall’s Funny Feet Strawberry Ice Cream
R Whites Premium Lemonade Ice Lollies
Rowntree’s Fruit Pastelle
Wall’s Mini Milk Strawberry
CALORIES
337 (13.2g of sugar per 53ml bar, 3 ½ tsp)
275 (12.4g of sugar per 51ml bar, 3 ½ tsp)
272 (21g of sugar, Just over 5 tsp)
270 (21.9g of sugar, almost 5 ½ tsp)
249 (16.4g of sugar, 4 tsp )
245 (21g of sugar, just over 5 tsp)
238 (19g of sugar, almost 5 tsp)
225 (23g of sugar, almost 6 tsp)
221 (19.9g of sugar, 5 tsp)
200 (12.2g of sugar, 3 tsp)
187 (13g of sugar, just over 3 tsp)
118 (11.3g of sugar, almost 3 tsp)
95 (20g of sugar, 5 tsp)
94 (13g of sugar, just over 3 tsp)
94 (17g of sugar, over 4 tsp)
87 (18.8g of sugar per 100ml)
82 (10.5g of sugar, almost 3 tsp)
70 (8g of sugar, 2 tsp)
62 (14.1g of sugar, 3 ½ tsp)
61 (12.3g of sugar, over 3 tsp)
31 (4.1g of sugar)
The figure is less for children, depending on their age but should account for less than five per cent of their daily food consumption.
Sarah added: ‘These ice creams show how easy it is to increase sugars – this is just a snack and can contain anything from three to six teaspoons of sugar, despite a drop in calories for some.’
Sarah was also worried by the ingredients of the sweet snacks.
Sarah added: ‘It is not just the sugar content that is incredibly worrying, it is the ingredients list. Most read more like a science project rather than real food.
‘We don’t need emulsifiers, caramelised sugar syrups, stabilisers, colourings, locust bean gum, beetroot juice, reconstituted skimmed milk, carrageenan, potato starch, ammonium phosphatides, Fructose syrups and palm oils.’
A retro treat, Wall’s Funny Feet Strawberry Ice Cream is also one of the healthiest options with only 70 calories and two teaspoons of sugar
The Daim Caramel Ice Cream comes in at 249 calories as well as 16.4g – or four teaspoons – of sugar
The Cadbury Flake Cones are an indulgent treat with 238 calories and nearly five teaspoons of sugar; the classic Cornetto has a mere 187 calories in comparison, with its built in waffle cone and chocolate sauce
‘These sugary ice-creams are snacks and offer no nutritional contribution to our health. We give these to our children as treats unaware of the damage to their health and waistline.
‘We eat these in front of the TV, unconsciously eating more and more snack food. It is these types of foods that I strongly advise all my clients to avoid, offering them real food solutions to our ‘treats’’.
Magnum ice creams are firm favourites among the UK and although they’re one of the most calorific options, they are beaten by two other even more unhealthy options.
The Magnum Almond has 272 calories and 21g (just over five teaspoons) of sugar, while a similar treat, the Dairy Milk Swirl Ice Cream, has 270 calories and 21.9g of sugar (almost 5.5 tsp).
The Daim Caramel Ice Cream comes in at 249 calories but also has a high sugar content of 16.4g (four teaspoons).
The Wall’s Feast is also high in calories – at 245 – and contains 21g of sugar (just over 5 tsp), even though it’s a far slimmer bar than its more recent choc ice cousins.
The Cadbury Crunchie Blast, meanwhile, may not top the league table with its 225 calories but it comes first for containing 23g of sugar (almost six teaspoons).
Cadbury’s Flake Cones are also a double whammy of 238 calories and 19g of sugar (almost 5 tsp).
Crunchy little Malteaser pieces floating in creamy dairy ice cream and covered in chocolate sounds like a dreamy option, but with 221 calories and 19.9g of sugar (5 tsp), it could still be a diet nightmare.
An Oreo Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream with 12.2g of sugar (3 tsp), also comes in at quite a hefty 200 calories.
The Wall’s Feast, which has chocolate flavour ice cream with a solid chocolate flavour centre, has 245 calories
Malteaser pieces floating in creamy ice cream sounds like a dreamy option, but with 221 calorie and five teaspoons of sugar it could be a diet nightmare
The Exotic Solero, with exotic-fruit sauce has a reasonable 94 calories, placing it around the middle mark
The classic Wall’s Twister, with pineapple ice cream with strawberry and lemon fruit ice, has 94 calories
The average beer contains 180 calories and the average glass of wine contains 160 – both much less than all off the chocolatey treats above.
A classic Cornetto has a relatively modest 187 calories and 13g of sugar (just over 3 tsp), and the classic Wall’s Twister, with 13g of sugar (just over 3 tsp), and the Exotic Solero both have 94.
The Smarties Cone comes in 118 calories and 11.3g of sugar (almost 3 tsp), – one of the lowest calories chocolate flavoured options.
A refreshing orange flavoured Calippo has no fatty dairy products, but it is still rather high in calories in comparison to other water based lollies at 95 and it doesn’t scrimp on sugar with 20g of the sweet stuff (5 tsp).
A refreshing orange flavoured Calippo has no fatty dairy products, but is still rather high in calories at 95, while it also contains five teaspoons of sugar; A Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles lolly is the lighter option at just 61 calories and a little over three teaspoons of sugar
The classic Fab bar with vanilla ice, strawberry ice and a chocolate tip with sprinkles has just 82 calories
The healthiest ice lolly is a Wall’s Mini Milk Strawberry, which contain only 31 calories and a mere 4.1g of sugar
A Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles lolly contains a slimline 61 calories but is still sugary with 12.3g (over 3 tsp), and a Nestlé Fab has 82 calories and 10.5g of sugar (under 3 tsp).
A retro treat, Wall’s Funny Feet Strawberry Ice Cream has only 70 calories and 8g of sugar (2 tsp).
Slightly more at 87 calories is the drink Vimto’s Mixed Fruit Ice with 87 calories and 18.8g of sugar per 100ml.
But the healthiest is the children’s classic Wall’s Mini Milk Strawberry, which contains just 31 calories and 4.1g of sugar, a fraction of the other treats.