You won't believe the crazy number of calories eaten on the average flight

Just when you thought plane food couldn’t get any worse, research proves otherwise.

Melissa Shedden 18, 20172:29pm

Photo: iStockSource:BodyAndSoul

If you believe 'healthy' and 'travel' are mutually exclusive categories - your thoughts have been confirmed.

According to a new book, Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating, plane food not only tastes gross, but has more calories and additives than what you'd eat on solid ground.

And there is a science behind this, explains the book’s author, Professor Charles Spence.

“The lower cabin air pressure, dry cabin air and the loud engine noise all contribute to our inability to taste and smell food and drink,” Spence told Telegraph Travel.

“[Therefore] the food we consume needs 20-30 per cent more sugar and salt to make it taste like it would on the ground.”

Yep, you might want to do as dietitian Steph Lowe recommends, and BYO healthy airplane pack, if you want to survive a short, mid or long haul flight with your clean eating ways in tact.

“Next, there is the boredom,” Spence said. “With nothing else to do, food becomes an appealing distraction. And when it is being offered for free it will be even harder to resist.”

“Another really big problem is the movie or television you watch,” he continued. “It is not uncommon to find people eating as much a third more food with the TV on.”

So what exact (largely empty) calorie intake are we talking here?

“It has been estimated,” Spence writes in his book, “that the British consume more than 3,400 calories between their check-in at the airport and their arrival at their destination.”

That's more than double your recommended daily energy intake - and considering Brits are geographically closer to the rest of the world, we’d hate to think how many calories we Aussies are eating when travelling.

This research though, is based on the regular airline meals available. The good news is, you don't have to make the sad decision between the chicken or the beef, there are actually 12 healthy options you can order on a flight now (everything from a fruit platter meal to raw vegetarian). Pre-orders all round.

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