Press releases

Iced coffees can contain a quarter of daily calories

27 July 2009

Some iced coffee drinks being sold by high street coffee shop chains contain up to a quarter of a woman’s recommended daily calories, a cancer charity has warned.

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has found one iced coffee drink sold on the high street that contains 561 calories. The estimated daily calorie requirement for an average woman is 2,000 calories.

Others contain over 450 calories and most of them have over 200 calories, which is about 10 per cent of a typical woman’s daily calorie needs.

WCRF is warning that regularly consuming high calorie drinks like these could increase cancer risk.

This is because consuming too many calories can lead to weight gain and scientists now say that, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do to help prevent cancer. This is why WCRF recommends avoiding sugary and high calorie drinks

Dr Rachel Thompson, Science Programme Manager for WCRF, said: “The fact that there is an iced coffee on the market with over a quarter of a woman’s daily calorie allowance is alarming. This is the amount of calories you might expect to have in an evening meal, not in a drink.

“Having these type of drinks as an occasional treat is unlikely to do you any harm. But if you are having them regularly then they will increase the chances of you becoming overweight, which in turn increases your risk of developing cancer, as well as other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

“With even some small options containing 300 calories, people should check the nutritional content of these drinks, particularly if they are having them regularly. There are some iced coffees on the market that are low in calories, so it is worth shopping around. For example we found one that has just three calories.

“As a general rule, if you want to have a coffee, go for an unsweetened version with skimmed or semi skimmed milk as this is likely to contain fewer calories. It is also worth steering clear of ones that contain lots of cream or sugary fruit syrups as these tend to be higher in calories.”

WCRF recommends that for cancer prevention it is best to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. The charity also recommends avoiding sugary drinks and limiting consumption of energy-dense foods. For cancer prevention, water is always the best choice of drink, but unsweetened tea and coffee made without cream are also preferred to sugary drinks. (With coffee, people should aim to limit consumption to no more than four cups a day.)

ENDS

For more information contact Sheryl Plant on 020 7343 4273.

Notes to editors:

• At Starbucks a Venti Dark Berry Mocha Frappuccino blended coffee with whipped cream, which is a limited offering for summer, is 561 calories. The Tall option (the smallest option Starbucks provides) is 369 calories. Without whipped cream the Venti option still contains 457 calories and the tall option 288. However, you can get a Tall Iced Coffee for just three calories, with the Venti option containing only five calories.
• At Caffé Nero, a Double Chocolate Frappe and a Mocha Frappe Latte with semi skimmed milk contains 483 calories. The skimmed milk option contains 452 calories. A Frappe Latte with semi skimmed milk contains 307 calories. The skimmed milk option contains 277. An Iced Latte contains 117 calories.
• At Costa Coffee the Massimo Coffee Frescato contains 332 calories. The Primo version (the smallest version Costa offers) is 199 calories. An Massimo Iced Mint Latte with full fat milk (again being advertised for summer) contains 306 calories. The Primo version contains 167 calories. Similarly the Massimo Iced Mocha with full fat milk contains 361 and the Primo version 152.
• The healthy weight range is a BMI of 18.5 - 25.
• There is convincing evidence that excess body fat is a cause of six types of cancer: postmenopausal breast cancer; bowel cancer; and cancers of the oesophagus; pancreas; endometrium (womb lining) and kidney.
• Scientists estimate that almost 19,000 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with a case of cancer that could have been prevented if they were a healthy weight.
• The recommended daily calorie intake for men is 2500

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About WCRF

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) raises awareness that cancer is largely preventable and helps people make choices to reduce their chances of developing the disease.

This includes research into how cancer risk is related to diet, physical activity, and weight management, and education programmes that highlight the fact that about a third of cancers could be prevented through changes to lifestyle. For more information on the charity’s work, visit www.wcrf-uk.org

The WCRF report, called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, was launched in November 2007 and is the most comprehensive report ever published on the link between cancer and lifestyle. For more information, visit www.dietandcancerreport.org