How much sugar is really in your frozen drinks?

NOBODY thinks they’re super healthy, but do you actually know how much sugar you’re getting in a 7-Eleven slurpee or a McDonald’s slushie? Check out how much is in your favourite flavour.

POPULAR slurpees and slushies are stacked with such “obscene” amounts of sugar that regular drinkers risk developing “toxic fat”, obesity experts warn.

Some of the largest contain as much as 20.4 teaspoons of sugar — almost half an entire week’s recommended maximum in a single cup — a review has found.

Analysis of several frozen drinks sold at 7-Eleven, Hungry Jack’s, McDonald’s and KFC concluded most were packed with well above a day’s advised added sugar limit.

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Erin Pettet, 32, was shocked to learn just how much sugar is in some frozen drinks. Picture: Alex Coppel

To encourage alternatives to cool off, health campaigners LiveLighter and Rethink Sugary Drink are using graphic advertising portraying a cup of fat being sipped.

‘Don’t Be Sucked In’ posters being displayed at some Melbourne bus and tram stops for two weeks caution about “obscene” amounts of sugar “that can cause toxic fat around your vital organs”.

Dietitian Alison McAleese, from Victoria’s Cancer Council and Heart Foundation’s LiveLighter program, said adults should limit added sugar intake to no more than six teaspoons daily.

Excessive added sugar consumption led to weight gain and the accumulation of toxic fat inside the abdomen. This raised the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

“Ideally sugary frozen drinks should be avoided, but if you are going to drink them stick to the smallest portions and have only occasionally,” she said.

“Water is the best alternative, but even one lemonade icy pole, with 2.7 teaspoons of sugar, is a far better option.”

The sugar content advertising message. Picture: Supplied

LiveLighter calculated that 7-Eleven’s mega-size Slurpee Cola had a staggering 20.4 teaspoons in a 1182ml serve.

Of checked products, the 7-Eleven large ‘Zilched’ Slurpee Cranberry Lime had the least sugar, at 0.2 teaspoons in a 650ml serve.

Erin Pettet, who enjoys a few frozen drinks per week over summer, was shocked to learn of the size of sugar hits.

“They’re so cheap, and they cool me down. Now that I know just how much sugar there actually is ... I definitely won’t have nearly as many,” Ms Pettet, 32, said.

7-Eleven head of marketing Julie Laycock said low-sugar Zilched Slurpees were growing in popularity and available on at least one tap in every store.

“One in every five Slurpees sold is now a Slurpee Zilched containing less than 1 per cent sugar,” Ms Laycock said.

Overall, four in five Slurpee customers opted for the smallest two sizes, she said.

KFC, Hungry Jack’s and McDonald’s declined to comment.

SUGAR IN FROZEN DRINKS

*Product/Tsp sugar/No. of lemonade icy poles with same amount sugar

7-Eleven Slurpee

Cola/Honey Pear mega (1182ml)/20.4/7.6

Cola super (890ml)/15.4/5.7

Cola/Raspberry large (650ml)/11.2/4.2

Honey Pear/Fairy Floss large (650ml)/11.2/4.2

Zilched Sour Apple large (650ml)/0.5/0.2

Zilched Lychee large (650ml)/0.3/0.1

Zilched Cranberry Lime large (650ml)/0.2/0.1

Hungry Jack’s Frozen

Coke/Fanta mango jumbo (564ml)/18.3/6.9

Coke/Fanta mango large (354ml)/11.5/4.3

McDonald’s Frozen

Coke large (660ml)/14/5.2

Fanta orange large (660ml)/13.5/5.1

KFC Freeze

Mountain Dew (413g)/13.2/4.9

Pepsi (340g)/10.1/3.8

Source: LiveLighter. Calculations based on company website information.

@KarenCollierHS