Nov 19, 2009 5:36 pm US/Eastern
Movie Theater Popcorn Loaded With Fat, Calories
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
At the theater, many of us savor that big tub of popcorn (or bag) just as much as we enjoy the actual movie.
But a new report finds that if you add a soda and other tasty treats you could be consuming thousands of calories without even realizing it.
According to researchers, the popcorn being served at most movie theaters across the country is loaded with saturated fat and calories, especially when it's cooked in coconut oil.
The study finds that a medium popcorn with butter and a medium soda can have about the same amount of fat and calories as TWO McDonald's Quarter Pounders with cheese.
They looked at the nation's three largest theater chains, Regal and AMC which pop in coconut oil, and Cinemark Theaters that uses canola oil.
Researchers found a large popcorn cooked in coconut oil along with buttery topping has about 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat. A medium bag has just slightly less. And the butter flavoring alone is 130 calories by the spoonful.
Deb Hollon, a nutritionist at Massachusetts General Hospital, says you could easily consume all of your daily calories in one bag of popcorn.
"The average American needs about 2000 calories so if you're taking in 500 to 1,500 from popcorn, it could be our entire budget for the day," Hollon explains.
Popcorn with canola oil is much lower in saturated fat but still packs calories.
If you think that you're going to save calories by avoiding the popcorn, think again. A super-sized package of Sweet-Tarts contains roughly 660 calories, and a package of Reese's Pieces contains about 1,200 calories.
So, if you gotta have the popcorn, and many of us do, share it with someone else, limit the butter, and choose water instead of a soda.
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