Would you think twice if you knew your cocktail contained the same amount of calories as a McDonald’s Happy Meal?
Depending on the portion size, a Pina Colada contains between 250 and 650 calories, more than a Big Mac, McFlurry, or kids’ meal at McDonald’s.
How about a martini? Although it’s a stiff and minimalist cocktail, the sophisticated drink popularized by James Bond and swanky celebrities is just as calorie-dense as a snack bag of Doritos cutlets.
Health officials in the US have called for traffic light-style nutrition labels on alcoholic drinks, claiming Msot drinkers have no idea how many calories they are consuming.
And the drinks add up. During holidays, like this Labor Day weekend, Americans drink about 27 percent more alcohol and are significantly more likely to binge drink.
That’s why counted the calories in America’s 20 most popular drinks to help you calculate how much a weekend of drinking will set you back.
Earlier this year, the nonprofit American Addiction Centers surveyed 1,000 current drinkers about their favorite drinks
The calorie content of beer varies greatly. For example, light beers can contain as little as 95 calories per 12-ounce serving, while heavy beers have around 150 calories
Earlier this year, the nonprofit American Addiction Centers surveyed 1,000 current drinkers about their favorite drinks.
Respondents ranked their top 20, with beer at the top of the list, closely followed by wine and classic cocktails like rum and coke and Long Island Iced Tea.
While beer only has between 95 and 150 calories per 12-ounce bottle, the calorie intake of other bar staples is much greater.
The worst offender was a pina colada, which can have up to 650 calories in restaurants where portion sizes tend to be larger.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.3 billion people worldwide are considered “current drinkers,” meaning they drink alcohol regularly. That’s almost 30 percent of the world’s population.
According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 213 million people in the United States ages 18 and older have reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives.
And about a quarter of U.S. men and a fifth of U.S. women reported binge drinking in the past month.
Beer is America’s most popular alcoholic beverage, probably because it is cheaper than cocktails and wine and is easy to find in most bars and restaurants.
The calorie content varies greatly. For example, light beers can contain as little as 95 calories per 12-ounce serving, while heavy beers have around 150 calories.
For example, a Heineken has 142 calories per serving, almost as much as a bag of potato chips or two Chips Ahoy! Cookies.
Most wines have slightly fewer calories than beer, although the serving size is smaller. The average glass, which contains five ounces, has about 120 calories. Sweeter flavors tend to have higher calorie content, around 160.
The highest calorie cocktail on the list was a Pina Cola. In a standard 4.5 ounce serving, this drink has about 245 calories.
But most restaurant portions are larger, running up to 16 ounces. These drinks can provide up to 650 calories, about a third of the recommended daily allowance of 2,000 calories.
Only a Pina Colada has more calories than a Big Mac or a McFlurry.
Margaritas, another restaurant staple, were also among U.S. drinkers’ favorite cocktails.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), an average eight-ounce margarita contains about 274 calories. That’s about the same amount of calories as a quarter cup of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.
Additionally, many margaritas you get at restaurants are larger than eight ounces, making them higher in calories.
Restaurant margaritas can also contain up to 31 grams of sugar, more than the American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake for women (24 grams) and almost as much as the intake for men (36 grams).
And as if Americans weren’t already obsessed with sugary sodas, survey participants happily added alcohol to them. Rum and Coke was another top drink, totaling 185 calories and 25 grams of sugar.
That’s about the same amount of calories as three mini bags of Skittles, and the sugar is equivalent to two mini bags.
If the cocktail is made with diet cola, it is only 100 calories. Diet Coke contains no sugar but is sweetened with aspartame, an artificial sweetener that the WHO recently classified as “possibly carcinogenic,” meaning it can cause cancer.
Sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice, was at the bottom of the list. This drink only has 60 calories per shot, which is equivalent to a handful of raspberries.
| Drink | Calories | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 95-150 | Bag of plain potato chips |
| Wine | 120-160 | Starbucks vanilla bean scone |
| Rum and Cola | 100-185 | Dunkin Iced Latte |
| Margarita | 274 | 1/4 cup Ben and Jerry’s ice cream |
| Long Island Iced Tea | 276 | 20 ounces of Coca-Cola |
| Pina Colada | 245-650 | McDonald’s Big Mac or McFlurry |
| Daiquiri | 137 | Brownie |
| Vodka cranberry | 100-130 | Two OREO cookies |
| sparkling wine | 80 | Greek yogurt |
| Gin and tonic | 140-190 | Peanut M&Ms |
| Mojito | 170-250 | Wendy’s Frosty Jr |
| Vodka soda | 80-130 | Snack Pack Pudding |
| Sex on the beach | 234 | McDonald’s baked apple pie |
| Whiskey Sour | 162 | Starbucks cake pops |
| Moscow donkey | 182 | 2 tablespoons peanut butter |
| Martini | 125-140 | Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips |
| Old-fashioned | 145-175 | Sour Patch Kids |
| Vodka Red Bull | 126-212 | 3 Dunkin Munchkins |
| bloody mary | 140 | Two Chips Ahoy! Cookies |
| will | 60 | A handful of raspberries |