London: Forget about dinner after having that chilled iced coffee with friends, for an expert says that some of these cold coffees have more calories than a steak and chips dinner.
Dr Rachel Thompson has found that women who have the drink are consuming a quarter of their recommended 2000-calorie daily intake.
And this intake of calories increases their chances of becoming obese, which in turn could lead to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Thompson, who works for the World Cancer Research Fund, studied iced drinks from three top chains.
And she found that Starbucks` dark berry mocha frappuccino in the largest venti size with added whipped cream has the highest number of calories, counting at 561.
A well-done steak with chips contains 525 calories, while roast beef and trimmings have 540.
A double chocolate frappe and a mocha frappe latte containing sugar and semi-skimmed milk at Caffe Nero contains 483 calories.
And the highest at Costa was the 332-calorie massimo coffee frescato, which has vanilla-based sugar syrup.
Thompson`s research revealed that most iced coffee drinks contained more than 200 calories.
"The fact there is an iced coffee with over a quarter of a woman`s daily calorie allowance is alarming," The Sun quoted Thompson as saying.
"There are some iced coffees on the market that are low in calories so it is worth shopping around. We found one that has just three calories," she added.
Meanwhile, Starbucks said that it had some low-calorie iced drinks available.
A spokesman added: "We believe our customers want quality and choice."
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