How bad is your favorite milkshake for you? Popular shakes can be packed with 1,200 calories –

Milkshakes sold at famous British chains can contain as many calories as four cheeseburgers and more salt than two servings of McDonald’s fries, according to an analysis by MailOnline.

Anti-obesity activists today called our findings “outrageous” and said “it’s time for these food chains to act more responsibly.”

We compared the nutritional values ​​of milkshakes from a dozen of the UK’s most popular restaurants, including Five Guys, Shake Shack and Creams.

One of the worst offenders was a Five Guys peanut butter chocolate milkshake with 1,196 calories—the equivalent of 14 chocolate digests, six original glazed Krispy Kreme donuts, or a large Big Mac meal.

It also accounts for 60 percent of a woman’s recommended daily caloric intake and half of a man’s.

The Five Guys drink was also the saltiest smoothie on the market, 1.48 g, equivalent to two and a half servings of McDonald’s medium fries.

Meanwhile, Shake Shack’s Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cream option contains 108g of sugar per serving—3.6 times the maximum amount of added sugar people are recommended to take each day. By comparison: a can of Coke contains about 35 grams.

Sugar on Action stressed that smoothies are often seen as a “nutritious option” because their main ingredient is milk, but “that’s not always the case.”

It is recommended that the British consume no more than 30 grams of sugar and 6 grams of salt per day. Eating too much sugar can cause weight gain and tooth decay, while a high-salt diet can raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The NHS tells men to eat around 2,500 calories a day to maintain body weight, while the average woman needs 2,000 calories a day.

Eating too many calories can lead to obesity, which affects a quarter of Brits and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and strokes.

MailOnline analyzed the healthiest milkshakes from Five Guys, Shake Shack, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, McDonalds, KFC, TGI Fridays, Frankie and Benny’s, Krispy Kreme, Caffe Nero, and Cream’s.

We selected the most caloric beverage from the various options and sizes in each chain, and also looked at the sugar and salt content.

The Five Guys’ milkshake, which allowed customers to choose their own taste, was the most caloric (1196 calories) when chocolate, peanut butter, and whipped cream were added to the drink.

Costing £5.95, the drink was also the second highest in sugar (103g).

By comparison, a single chocolate bar contains 84 calories and 4.8 g of sugar – 14 times fewer calories and 21 times less sugar.

Shake Shack’s chocolate chip cookies and whipped cream smoothie, which retailed for £6.25, was the second-worst item in terms of calories (1,160), but held the title for the sweetest option at 108g per serving.

In comparison, a regular Krispy Kreme donut contains 12.6 g of sugar, 8.5 times less than a smoothie.

Cream’s big thick smoothie with Snickers was third on the list for calories (869) and the most expensive option (£6.95).

The double chocolate milkshake, one of Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s largest at 500ml, had half the calories (663) and a quarter less sugar (73 g) than the Five Guys and Shake Shack options.

But the drink, which sold for £4.90, contained about a third of a woman’s daily calorie intake and a quarter of a woman’s daily calorie intake, and contained twice as much sugar as a British. Limit yourself to each day.

Frankie and Benny’s Banana Ice Cream Custard Smoothie (4.20 pounds) had 517 fewer calories.

TGI Fridays’ Chocolate Smoothie (£3.99) and Krispy Kreme’s Caramel Smoothie (£5.45) contain a similar number of calories, 460 and 420 respectively.

McDonald’s Medium Vanilla Milkshake (£2.29) and KFC’s Milky Bar Krushem (£1.99) had similar calories (366 and 320, respectively) despite being nearly double the McDonald’s beverage.

However, McDonald’s version was one of the sweeter options with 60g of sugar, while KFC’s version is 39.8g.

Caffe Nero’s strawberry milkshake (£4) had the least calories and sugar (235 calories and 39 g sugar).

A similar 2018 analysis by Action on Sugar found that a single Toby Carvery “freak shake” contains up to 156 g of sugar, equivalent to 39 teaspoons. The survey of 140 products also found that the Five Guys smoothie contains 149g of sugar, or 37 teaspoons.

The group has previously called for a ban on any smoothie containing more than 300 calories.

Holly Gabriel, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at Action on Sugar, told MailOnline today that people often think of smoothies as “a nutritious option because milk is their main ingredient.”

But these “outrageous results clearly show that this is not always the case and provide further evidence that the UK government’s voluntary sugar reduction program is not working,” he said.

Gabriel added: “Food and beverage companies that want to do the right thing are clamoring for a level playing field that can only be achieved by setting mandatory calorie and sugar reduction targets.

“While sugars are naturally present in milk and dairy products, there is no excuse for adding excessive amounts of sugar that can contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. It’s time for these food chains to act more responsibly.”

The findings came amid a national obesity crisis that worsened during the pandemic. One in three children in England are overweight or obese when they leave school, while three quarters of those aged 45 and over are overweight.

The NHS spends more than £6bn a year to treat obesity-related health problems and the cost is expected to rise to £9.7bn by 2050.

The Prime Minister has declared an obesity crackdown in 2020 after an almost deadly Covid attack attributed to being overweight.

As part of the plan, new laws restricting the supply of high-fat, sugar and salt-rich foods in medium and large-sized stores are expected to come into effect in October. Additionally, junk food giants will no longer be able to advertise online and on TV before 9 PM in January 2023.

No10 also plans to end the “buy one get one free” campaign on unhealthy foods and place products at key points of the stores such as the lobby and cash registers.

And earlier this month, a rule went into effect requiring restaurants, bars, and takeaways with more than 250 employees to list calories on their menus.

And through the NHS, Brits can now access apps, free or low-cost gym memberships and programs like Weight Watchers to help them lose weight.

But there are concerns that Mr Johnson may weaken or abandon some of these plans to appease conservative lawmakers who have resisted nanny interventions.