Easter eggs laying a dollop of fat and sugar on waistlines

A new rocky-road filled Easter egg is a hit with Northland chocolate lovers this year, but it may come at a price - on their waistline.

The New Zealand Chocolate Company half-egg is this year's most popular Easter treat, Whangarei's Gifts on Rathbone storeowner Michelle Webb said.

The Bennett's Easter bunnies, which come in a trio of dark, milk and white chocolate, had also been good sellers, she said.

But at what cost?

One Cadbury's Creme egg, an old Kiwi favourite, contains about 171 calories and 25.1 grams of sugar or about five teaspoons of sugar. To burn off those calories, an 80kg adult would have to run about 13 minutes at a speed of 10km/h.

Research found children in the UK received on average eight chocolate eggs each at Easter - about 12,000 calories and around 270 teaspoons of sugar, the Daily Mail reported.

Healthy Food Guide nutritionist Claire Turnbull believed Kiwi kids consumed less Easter chocolate than their British counterparts. However, even three large Easter eggs in one day "is a massive amount of sugar and saturated fat in one go, and a lot of calories", she warned.

And while an Easter chocolate gorge was unlikely to have long-term health effects, it would not be "particularly helpful" for children, she said.

To help prevent kids over-indulging on chocolate, she recommended running an Easter egg hunt with a group chocolate egg prize to reduce the amount each child consumed.

And beginning the Easter weekend with a boiled egg breakfast accompanied by "toast soldiers" would help children associate Easter with real eggs. Mrs Turnbull also recommended encouraging youngsters to spread out consumption of Easter treats, if possible over a few weeks.