UK revellers will consume an average 3.63 roast potatoes and 2.54 spoonfuls of Brussels sprouts during Christmas dinner, as they tot up more than 6,000 calories in one food-and-drink-fuelled day.
This compares with the 2,000 per day recommended for women and 2,500 for men.
On average 5.25 people will sit around the table for Christmas dinner, one third of whom will toast the meal with champagne, and 37 per cent with sparkling wine.
Sainsbury's nutritionist Charlie Parker warned: “It's a relief that Christmas comes just once a year because if we ate like this every day we'd be in trouble.”
She added though that while the festive plate might be heaving, it's still possible to make it well-balanced and highly nutritious - if a little heavy on the calories.
There is evidence that for the younger generation at least the Brussels sprout is on the way out, with clear differences in the levels of its popularity by age, said the survey. Fewer than seven per cent of 18-24 year olds rate them a favourite Christmas ingredient. Sprouts are most popular with the 55+ age group, ranking fourth on their list of most popular Christmas meal ingredients.
More than a third (34 per cent) of the 18-24 age bracket will eat five or more roast potatoes as part of their Christmas meal. A total of 95 per cent of all Christmas meals will feature roasties, with 52 per cent of people naming them as a favourite festive food. More than a third of the 18-24 age bracket will eat more than five roasties. Remarkably, 37 per cent of people expressed a desire for mashed as well as roast potato.
Parsnips, peas and broccoli will join sprouts on the Christmas plate. However, some traditional trimmings prove less popular. Only one per cent of those questioned rated red cabbage among their favourite ingredients, and just four per cent cranberry sauce.
The online poll of 2,583 adults for Sainsbury's was carried out by market researchers YouGov earlier this month.
