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The Scariest Part About Halloween: The Sugar

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FACT CHECKED
  Published on November 2nd, 2018
  Reading time: 2 minutes
  Last modified January 6th, 2023
halloween candy sugar

halloween candy sugarHalloween is the biggest candy sale holiday of the year, according to the National Confectioners Association. In 2018, Forbes reported 179 million Americans will partake in Halloween festivities, which is estimating an average cost of $9 billion dollars. About $2.7 billion dollars of that will be spent on candy alone, which is equivalent to 300,000 tons. [1] [2]That’s a lot of candy! So how much sugar does each child consume on the day of Halloween?

Sugar in Halloween Candy

It is estimated that the average child in America consumes 3 cups of sugar on Halloween night and that is equivalent to 384 grams. [3]  This is more than 15 times the recommended daily amount per day.  This intake continues to be exceeded by the average American and contributes to the reasons behind high obesity rates that are still on the rise in the United States.  To put this into perspective, here is what 384 grams of sugar might look like:

amount of sugar in junk food

You can see how easy this becomes when looking at the carbohydrate count of a few classic American candies:

  • One small bag of Peanut M&M’s has 13 grams of sugar
  • One small bag of skittles has 15 grams
  • One fun-size Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar has 10 grams
  • Two Reese’s Cups contain 24 grams of sugar

When it comes to holidays, it’s important to remember there are always alternatives and other ways to help your kids (or you) eat less sugar.  Halloween is over so no need to stress about it. However, make sure that the candy bowl doesn’t sit around for weeks where you and your kids can continue to pile on the sugar load.  

Be on the lookout for our free Thanksgiving E-book coming to y’all very soon!

Katelynn Duncan is a contributor for Ketogenic.com

References

1.

All the Candy that’s Sold During Halloween Week, in One Massive Pumpkin, https://www.vox.com/2016/10/29/13408370/halloween-candy-market-obesity

2.

Here’s The Very Scary Amount of Money Americans Spend on Halloween, https://www.forbes.com/sites/sleasca/2017/10/30/halloween-spending-halloween-candy/#7fa4614f20a1, Stacey Leasca, Oct 30 2017.

3.

Here’s How Much Sugar the Average Kid Consumes on Halloween- and It’s Way More Than You’d Think, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-sugar-the-average-kid-consumes-on-halloween-2017-10?r=UK&IR=T, Leah Rocketto, October 23, 2017

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