food

Here's exactly what your favourite drink is equivalent to in junk food.

Bad news as we head into the season of Christmas parties – drinking just four alcoholic beverages can be as bad for you as gorging on junk food.

A video released by Cancer Council shows just how many kilojoules are in common drinks and compares them to sugary and fatty foods.

In a bid to inform Aussies about just how bad for them their favourite drinks can be, the Council’s clip shows the junk food equivalent to each drink, before putting all the ingredients into a blender and pouring it.

A pint of beer is 866 kilojules – and to help you visualise – that’s the same about as a scoop of ice-cream and a handful of mixed lollies.

(Image via Cancer Council.)
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Drinking a dark spirits pre-mixed can is about the same gobbling a hamburger, with some whipped cream on top.

Sipping on a pint of cider? You might as well be eating a bowl of sugary cereal and fried dim sim.

Trendy cocktail drinkers don't get off easy either: an espresso martini is equal to a doughnut and three chicken nuggets or 1190kJs.

And if that doesn't seem like a lot of junk food, consider this: the kilojoule total of those four drinks is 4455kJs - half an average adult's recommended daily intake.

(Image via Cancer Council)
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Dietitian and LiveLighter campaign manager Alison McAleese told the Herald Sun most people didn't realise how just how high in kilojoules alcoholic drinks are.

"Just one can of rum and cola or vodka and citrus ­contains around 1000kJ — if you’re having four or more of these on a night out, you’re adding a whopping 4000kJs to your diet. That’s almost half the daily intake of the ­average Australian adult," Ms McAleese said.

“To put it into perspective, 4000kJs is the equivalent of eating either 20 chicken nuggets, 12 chocolate Paddle Pop ice-creams, three and a half cheeseburgers or five bowls of Froot Loops with milk.

"Most people wouldn’t dream of eating such an excessive amount of junk food, yet many would easily drink the equivalent on a night out.”

The Cancer Council warns that consuming excess calories can lead to weight gain and increase your risk of cancer. Of course, it's not just the potential weight gain that makes consuming excessive amounts of alcohol dangerous.

According to the Cancer Council website, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth , throat (pharynx and larynx), oesophagus , bowel (colon and rectum), liver and female breast.

You can see how many kilojoules are in your favourite alcoholic drink here.