'Fat map' shows most CALORIFIC Christmas dinners worldwide… and guess where Britain ranks?

A traditional British Christmas dinner is the second most calorific festive lunch in the world

BRITS are tipping the scales at Christmas with the second most calorific festive lunch in the world - can you guess who was at number one?

 

Us Brits take our Christmas dinners quite seriously. If it's not turkey, we don't want it - and a festive meal isn't complete without sprouts, even if we don't like them. 

But it might shock you to know our Christmas dinners impact our waistline quite dramatically - and the average calorie count for that one meal is 3289. 

 

While the UK was only at second place, the top spot was reserved for the US - but only two calories more than us Brits. 

The calorific Christmas spread in America doesn't necessarily include turkey, with many Americans  opting for ham or roast beef on Christmas Day. 

 

This map shows the calorie count, with most calorific coloured in dark

If you thought a European Christmas would be less calorific, you were wrong. France is a close third, according to Treated.com's Dr Wayne Osborne. 

Now, if you're looking for a lean Christmas dinner head east to Lithuania where the Christmas Eve supper is a traditionally modest affair. 

The biggest surprise of all is the traditional Christmas meal in Japan. The country that brought us beautiful sashimi and super-healthy sushi traditionally eats fast food at Christmas. 

It's said a KFC meal has been the Christmas custom since the 1970s.

  

The turkey dinners might not be as good for you as they look

Thankfully, the Dr has put together a few handy tips to help reduce a calorie-busting Christmas dinner. 

• One is to make some simple switches to the cooking process. Using olive oil instead of goose or duck fat is a healthier option.
• Choosing lean white meat instead of red meat, and skipping processed trimmings like sausage meat and pigs in blankets can bring the calorie dramatically down too.
• Another smart technique when faced with a huge spread is to fill your plate with vegetables first, then move around to the protein, carbs and condiments. This way you’ll get more of the fibrous elements and less of the fatty, calorific items.
• Perhaps one lesson we can learn from our Scandinavian and Mediterranean neighbours is to swap traditional Christmas meat for fish. This may amount to blasphemy for some, but in truth, fish is a much less calorific option, and can be just as tasty.

For more information please see online health resource treated.com