Research May Melt Desire For Ice Cream
Arteries, Waistlines At Risk From Premium Ice Creams
POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT July 23, 2003
Many Americans reward themselves with ice cream treats now and then -- especially during the hot summer weather. But how many of them look at the nutrition labels?
A new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, published in the July/August issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter, puts the calories and fat content of some of the most popular ice cream brands in perspective.
"It's as if these ice cream shops were competing with each other to see who could inflict the greatest toll on our arteries and waistlines," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. "It's not just regular ice cream, but premium. It's not just one scoop, but two or three. It's not just a cone, but a chocolate-dipped waffle cone. It's not just hot fudge, nuts, and whipped cream but every conceivable combination of cookie, candy, and chocolate."
Even a seemingly austere single scoop of premium ice cream provides 250 to 350 calories and a half a day's worth of saturated fat.
But that's dwarfed by many ice cream parlor offerings that exceed 1,000 calories. One large Baskin-Robbins Vanilla Milkshake has 1,070 calories and 32 grams of saturated fat -- which has the same impact on one's heart than three McDonald's Quarter Pounders, according to the organization.
One sundae at Friendly's, the 5-scoop Candy Shop Reese's Pieces, has 1,310 calories, a whole day's worth of fat, and two whole days' worth of saturated fat.
Not even TCBY -- the ubiquitous frozen yogurt chain -- can resist the temptation to pile on the calories and saturated fat with add-ons like syrups and candy pieces.
"Frozen yogurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but I doubt that people go into TCBY expecting the calories and saturated fat of two pork chops, a Caesar salad, and a buttered baked potato -- in a drink," Hurley said. TCBY's Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller has 1,200 calories and a day and a half's saturated fat.
But there is good news -- you don't have to avoid ice cream shops altogether. Most chains sell low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, or sorbet with only 100 to 200 calories and little or no saturated fat per scoop.
"Häagen-Dazs' delicious sorbet is one of the lowest-calories items we looked at, with only 120 calories in a single scoop," Hurley said.
The CSPI doesn't argue with a consumer's choice to splurge -- but it says chain restaurants should be required to list calorie counts on menu boards. Legislation that would require chain restaurants to do just that has been introduced in several state legislatures and in the District of Columbia.
"No one disputes that the obesity epidemic has many causes," said Michael Jacobson, CSPI executive director. "But certainly the sheer size and caloric density of these 'indulgences' has something to do with the size of Americans' pants."
Most of the numbers in the organization's analysis come from the companies themselves. For the 12 or so items for which the chains don't provide nutritional data, CSPI commissioned independent laboratory analyses of them.
Some of the comparisons include:
Nutritional Information:
A new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, published in the July/August issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter, puts the calories and fat content of some of the most popular ice cream brands in perspective.
"It's as if these ice cream shops were competing with each other to see who could inflict the greatest toll on our arteries and waistlines," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. "It's not just regular ice cream, but premium. It's not just one scoop, but two or three. It's not just a cone, but a chocolate-dipped waffle cone. It's not just hot fudge, nuts, and whipped cream but every conceivable combination of cookie, candy, and chocolate."
Even a seemingly austere single scoop of premium ice cream provides 250 to 350 calories and a half a day's worth of saturated fat.
But that's dwarfed by many ice cream parlor offerings that exceed 1,000 calories. One large Baskin-Robbins Vanilla Milkshake has 1,070 calories and 32 grams of saturated fat -- which has the same impact on one's heart than three McDonald's Quarter Pounders, according to the organization.
One sundae at Friendly's, the 5-scoop Candy Shop Reese's Pieces, has 1,310 calories, a whole day's worth of fat, and two whole days' worth of saturated fat.
Not even TCBY -- the ubiquitous frozen yogurt chain -- can resist the temptation to pile on the calories and saturated fat with add-ons like syrups and candy pieces.
"Frozen yogurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but I doubt that people go into TCBY expecting the calories and saturated fat of two pork chops, a Caesar salad, and a buttered baked potato -- in a drink," Hurley said. TCBY's Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller has 1,200 calories and a day and a half's saturated fat.
But there is good news -- you don't have to avoid ice cream shops altogether. Most chains sell low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, or sorbet with only 100 to 200 calories and little or no saturated fat per scoop.
"Häagen-Dazs' delicious sorbet is one of the lowest-calories items we looked at, with only 120 calories in a single scoop," Hurley said.
The CSPI doesn't argue with a consumer's choice to splurge -- but it says chain restaurants should be required to list calorie counts on menu boards. Legislation that would require chain restaurants to do just that has been introduced in several state legislatures and in the District of Columbia.
"No one disputes that the obesity epidemic has many causes," said Michael Jacobson, CSPI executive director. "But certainly the sheer size and caloric density of these 'indulgences' has something to do with the size of Americans' pants."
Most of the numbers in the organization's analysis come from the companies themselves. For the 12 or so items for which the chains don't provide nutritional data, CSPI commissioned independent laboratory analyses of them.
Some of the comparisons include:
| Brand | Item | Calories, Saturated Fat Equal To ... |
| Ben & Jerry's | Empty waffle cone dipped in chocolate | Half-pound rack of BBQ baby back ribs |
| Cone above with regular scoop of Chunky Monkey ice cream | More than a full 1 lb. rack of ribs | |
| Cold Stone Creamery | Regular Mud Pie Mojo | Two Pizza Hut personal pan pepperoni pizzas |
| Häagen-Dazs | Mint Chip Dazzler sundae | T-bone steak, Caesar salad, and a baked potato with sour cream |
| Baskin-Robbins | Large vanilla milkshake | Three McDonald's Quarter Pounders |
| TCBY | Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller | Two pork chops, a Caesar salad, and a buttered baked potato |
| Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest | ||
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