How many calories our favourite snacks contain

Research of 2,000 adults revealed a quarter (23 per cent) cite snack time as one of their favourite moments of the day, with nine per cent even claiming to spend hours thinking about their snack choices.

A fifth (18 per cent) also feel like they’re winning when they find out a snack they’ve eaten contains fewer calories than they thought.

The research, commissioned by Walkers, also revealed that only a quarter (24 per cent) were aware how many calories are in a banana, or handful (30g) of nuts.

And only a fifth (21 per cent) of people know how many calories are in a small bag (30g) of popcorn.

It also emerged just two per cent claim not to snack at all, while the average UK adult consumes up to two snacks a day, with over a third (35 per cent) consuming three or more.

Yet, snacking habits are changing, with 40 per cent claiming to have switched to buying snacks or crisps containing 100 calories or less, and one in 10 citing ‘double digit calories’ as their key snacking criteria.

And 97 per cent of Brits class themselves as ‘crisp eaters’ - half (46 per cent) eat them at least a few times each week, with 14 per cent of people eating them daily.

But only one in 10 (11 per cent) are aware there are 100 calories, or less, in a multipack bag of Wotsits and Monster Munch. Josephine Taylor, at Walkers, said: “We know how a good snack can make or break someone’s day.

“We’re always striving to provide extensive choice when it comes to snacks, to make sure we’re meeting the nation’s snacking needs.

“Hopefully this knowledge will be seen as good news for UK crisp lovers."

Nation's all-time favourite snacks

According to the snack brand’s data, chocolate (19 per cent) and crisps (17 per cent) are the nation’s all-time favourite snacks, followed by fruit (eight per cent) and cake (seven per cent), while between 3 and 4pm (24 per cent) is the time most people will opt to eat one.

When it comes to choosing lunch snacks, crisps were the nation’s top choice, with 46 per cent choosing them as their lunch snack of choice, followed by fruit (39 per cent) and chocolate (22 per cent).

Aside from double digit calories, other top snacking criteria includes items that are tasty (64 per cent), affordable (36 per cent), require zero preparation (21 per cent) and don’t smell or offend those around them (eight per cent).

Meanwhile one in five (18 per cent) claim snacks must be crunchy, and 11 per cent seek out snacks that are salty (17 per cent) or sweet (13 per cent).

If forced to opt for something that doesn’t meet their snacking criteria - 18 per cent feel like they need another, better snack to make up for it, while others claim to feel upset at the wasted snacking opportunity (10 per cent).

Almost half the nation (43 per cent) claim to feel ‘satisfied’ with themselves after a good snack, while others claim to feel a sense of achievement (four per cent).

Average calories of everyday snacks 

Monster Munch multipack bag (98 calories)

Quavers multipack bag (86 Calories)

Wotsits multipack bag (82 calories)

Squares multipack bag (97 calories)

French Fries multipack bag (78 calories)

Medium banana (105 calories)

30g portion of nuts (185 calories – mixed nuts)

30g popcorn (139 calories)

A slice of buttered toast (200 calories)

Two digestive biscuits (150 calories)