The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has advised against binging on snacks during the Lunar New Year holiday.
This year’s Lunar New Year holiday starts on Friday and runs through Wednesday next week.
People often eat too many snacks and consume excessive calories without being aware of it during the holiday, the agency said, adding that people would have to climb about 2,046 flights of stairs to burn off the extra calories.
Although most snacks appear light and small, they can contain high levels of calories, fat, sugar and sodium, the agency said.
It said among the common snacks eaten during the holiday, the three highest in calories are crunchy chocolate cereal cookies, which each contain 168 calories, 6.5g of fat and 7.9g of sugar; sesame egg rolls, which each contain 86 calories, 5.4g of fat and 4g of sugar; and hazelnut chocolates, which each contain 66 calories, 3.9g of fat and 4.8g of sugar.
If someone eats one chocolate bar, four pieces of dried mango, five pieces of sweet dried pork, a handful of dried shredded squid, two pieces of nougat and three fried dough twists in one day they would consume an extra 900-plus calories, which is about half the recommended daily intake for an adult who weighs about 60kg, it said.
In addition to the high calorie intake, the snacks are also high in fat, sugar and sodium, which can harm health, the agency said, adding that a person who consumed that amount of extra calories on each of the six days would have to climb Taipei 101 18 times, or about 2,046 flights of stairs, to burn off the extra calories.
Health Promotion Administration Director Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) suggested that people choose fresh fruit or nuts, which are rich in fiber and nutrients, rather than high-calorie processed foods, but limit the amount of nuts that are high in fat; share snacks with friends to reduce the amount of food intake; exercise with family and friends, drink sufficient water and check their weight every day.
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