Would you think twice if you knew your cocktail had the same amount of calories as a McDonald’s Happy Meal?
A Pina Colada contains anywhere from 250 to 650 calories, depending on serving size, more than a Big Mac, McFlurry, or a kid’s meal at McDonald’s.
How about a Martini? Despite being a stout and minimal cocktail, the sophisticated drink made popular by James Bond and chic socialites is as high in calories as a snack bag of Dorito’s pork chops.
US health officials have called for traffic light-style nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages, claiming that msot drinkers have no idea how many calories they are consuming.
And the drinks are right. During holidays, like this Labor Day weekend, Americans drink about 27 percent more alcohol and are much more likely to binge.
That’s why DailyMail.com counted the calories in America’s 20 favorite drinks to help you calculate how far a weekend of booze will take you back.
Earlier this year, the nonprofit American Addiction Centers surveyed 1,000 current drinkers about their favorite drinks
The calorie content in beer varies widely. For example, light beers can have only 95 calories per 12-ounce serving, while heavy options have about 150 calories
Earlier this year, the nonprofit American Addiction Centers surveyed 1,000 current drinkers about their favorite drinks.
Respondents ranked their top 20, with beer at the top of the list, followed closely by wine and classic cocktails such as Rum and Coke and Long Island Iced Tea.
While beer ranges from just 95 to 150 calories per 12-ounce bottle, other bar staples make a much bigger dent in the calorie count.
The worst offender was a pina colada, which can contain up to 650 calories in restaurants where portions tend to be larger.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 2.3 billion people around the world are considered ‘current drinkers’, meaning they drink alcohol regularly. This is almost 30 percent of the world’s population.
According to the 2021 report, 213 million people aged 18 and older in the US reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
And about a quarter of American men and a fifth of American women reported binge drinking in the past month.
Beer is America’s favorite alcoholic beverage, probably because it’s cheaper than cocktails and wine and readily available in most bars and restaurants.
The calorie content varies widely. For example, light beers can have as little as 95 calories per 12-ounce serving, while heavy options have about 150 calories.
For example, a Heineken has 142 calories per serving, almost as much as a bag of chips or two Chips Ahoy! cookies.
Most wines contain slightly fewer calories than beer, although the portion size is smaller. The average glass, which weighs five ounces, contains about 120 calories. Sweeter flavors tend to have more calories, about 160 in all.
The most caloric cocktail on the list was a pina cola. In a standard 4.5 ounce serving, this drink contains about 245 calories.
But most restaurant portions are larger than this, totaling a whopping 16 ounces. These drinks can contain up to 650 calories, about one-third of the daily recommended limit of 2,000 calories.
Just one pina colada has more calories than a Big Mac or a McFlurry.
Another restaurant staple, margaritas were also among American drinkers’ favorite cocktails.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are about 274 calories in the average 8-ounce (250-gram) margarita. This is about the same amount of calories as a quarter cup of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
Plus, many margaritas you get at restaurants are larger than eight ounces, making them higher in calories.
Restaurant margaritas can also contain up to 31 grams of sugar, more than the American Heart Association’s recommended daily allowance for women (24 grams) and nearly as much as the intake for men (36 grams).
And as if Americans weren’t already obsessed with sugary soft drinks, respondents loved adding alcohol to them. Rum and Coke was another top-ranking drink, with a total of 185 calories and 25 grams of sugar.
This is about the same amount of calories as three mini pouches of Skittles, and the sugar equals two mini pouches.
If the cocktail is made with Diet Coke, it contains only 100 calories. Diet Coke does not contain any sugar, but is sweetened with aspartame, an artificial sweetener that the WHO recently listed as ‘possibly carcinogenic’, meaning it can cause cancer.
Meanwhile, sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice, was at the bottom of the list. This drink contains only 60 calories per shot, the equivalent of a handful of raspberries.
| Drink | Calories | Equal to |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 95-150 | Bag of regular chips |
| Wine | 120-160 | Starbucks vanilla bean scone |
| Rum and coke | 100-185 | Dunkin Iced Latte |
| Margarita | 274 | 1/4 cup of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream |
| Long Island Iced Tea | 276 | 20 ounces of Coca Cola |
| Pina Colada | 245-650 | McDonald’s Big Mac or McFlurry |
| daiquiri | 137 | Brownie |
| Vodka Cranberry | 100-130 | Two OREO cookies |
| Champagne | 80 | Greek yoghurt |
| Gin tonic | 140-190 | M&Ms with peanuts |
| Mojito | 170-250 | Wendy’s Frosty Jr |
| Vodka soda | 80-130 | Snack package Pudding |
| Sex on the beach | 234 | McDonald’s baked apple pie |
| Whiskey sour | 162 | Starbucks cake pop |
| Moscow mule | 182 | 2 tablespoons of peanut butter |
| Martini | 125-140 | Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips |
| Old fashioned | 145-175 | Acid Patch Kids |
| Vodka Red Bull | 126-212 | 3 Dunkin Munchkins |
| Bloody Mary | 140 | Two chips Ahoy! cookies |
| Interest | 60 | Handful of raspberries |