People who eat too much sugar risk weight gain, tooth decay and an array of health conditions, experts have long warned.

But while NHS guidance sets the maximum daily intake at 30g of free sugars a day, or 210g per week, it can be difficult to know what combination of food you can actually eat before hitting this limit.

Those with a sweet tooth who enjoy tucking into chocolate, biscuits and ice cream every day may be in for a shock.

MailOnline’s graphic offers up four combinations of sugar-packed treats — but only one falls within the health service’s sugar guidelines.

Option one — a single bar of Dairy Milk — has a whopping 201.6g of sugar, which means the first option on the graphic is the only one that falls within the NHS target, as long as it is consumed over the course of a week. However, doing so leaves just 8.4g of free sugars for the rest of the week’s meals and drinks.

The NHS sugar limits only apply to free sugars — those added to products — rather than those found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables.

But the other combinations of sugary snacks shown in MailOnline’s graphic well surpass the NHS guidelines. 

Campaigners told MailOnline that they want stricter policies from the Government that force food manufacturers to slash the sugar content in their products — as many treats are impossible to enjoy while sticking within the 30g per day limit.

Those who ate one bar of Dairy Milk and five chocolate digestives over the course of one week, the second option in this website’s graphic, would consume 225.6g of sugar.

This combination, plus a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough, contains 327.9g.

Those who also then consume two Mars bars over seven days would be eating a whopping 389.9g of sugar — nearly double the NHS target.

Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar, Dr Kawther Hashem said: ‘Whilst it is important to guide the public on the maximum daily limit, many adults are oblivious to this information. 

‘We therefore need strict government policies for the food industry, to ensure they reduce levels of sugar in their everyday products and protect our health from avoidable illnesses and early deaths.’

Many people, unaware of the guided sugar levels, fill their lunches with crisps, chocolate and biscuits to get them through the work day. 

Data from the British Nutrition Foundation suggests that the average woman actually consumes 44g of sugar, while men have 55g. 

But enjoying a bar of chocolate on your lunch break can quickly eat through most of the Government’s recommended ‘free sugars’ for the entire week.

As well as the 30g of free sugars per day limit, the government recommends that that these sugars should not make up more than 5 per cent of the calories a person gets from food and drink each day.

This means a bar of chocolate every day for your lunch — which have around 10 to 31g of sugar — can almost guarantee you go over the limit every day.

If you prefer to enjoy a little treat while watching some night-time TV, this could also make staying in those tight guidelines almost impossible.

But some combinations do fall within the NHS sugar limits of 210g per week.

These include six Mars bars (186g), two Terry’s Chocolate Orange Milk Balls (185.26g) or two tubs of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream contains (204.6g).

Two packets of McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives Biscuits (151.62g) and two bags of Haribo Starmix (164.5g) also fall within the NHS guidelines, if consumed over the course of seven days.

Nutritionist Nichola Ludlam-Raine, based in Leeds, said: ‘It’s a stark reminder that indulging in even one of these treats can consume a significant portion, if not all, of our weekly sugar allowance, excluding sugars from drinks and regular meals.

‘The guidelines might seem stringent, but they’re designed to encourage a shift in our consumption patterns towards more whole, nutrient-dense foods and away from sugar-laden processed products. 

‘While it’s okay to enjoy treats occasionally, it’s essential to be mindful of their sugar content and balance them with other nutrient-rich foods.’

Sugar is one of the biggest culprits fuelling Britain’s bulging waistline.

One in four adults and 23 per cent of children aged 10-11 years in England are obese, making the UK one of the worst countries in Europe for obesity, behind Malta and Turkey.

The impact of jet lag can be reduced by ‘reshaping’ the inflight travel experience, research has shown, with foods including chilli and chocolate shown to ‘contribute to improved traveller wellbeing’.

These findings come from research undertaken by Australian airline Qantas and the University of Sydney‘s Charles Perkins Centre during test flights for Qantas’s ‘Project Sunrise’ program, which will connect Sydney directly with New York and London for the first time from late 2025.

Different lighting and sleep schedules, mealtimes, and movement and exercise were also highlighted as lessening the severity of jet lag, a statement said.

Qantas has been working with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre since 2015 when it first began preparations to launch Perth to London direct flights.

Qantas operated three Project Sunrise research flights from New York and London to Sydney in 2019 in partnership with Australian researchers to collect real-world passenger data.

Researchers travelled on the aircraft and monitored 23 volunteer customers who were fitted with wearable device technology during the 20-hour flights as they followed a specially designed menu, lighting, sleep and movement sequences.

Initial findings, as yet unpublished, indicate that, compared to customers on a traditional inflight sequence of eating and sleeping, those on the tailored schedule experienced less severe jet lag (self-reported), better sleep quality inflight, and better cognitive performance in the two days after flight, the statement revealed.

The inflight trials involved tailored cabin lighting schedules to facilitate adaption to the destination time zone and integrating simple stretch and movement activities.

They also adjusted the timing of meal services to align the body clock and encouraged wake and sleep by using specific menu items, including fish and chicken paired with fast-acting carbohydrates, as well as comfort foods such as soups and milk-based desserts. 

The aim, the statement said, was to promote the brain’s production of the amino acid tryptophan (‘Tryp’) to help passengers drift off more easily.

The specially designed Airbus A350s that Qantas will use for Project Sunrise flights include an onboard ‘Wellbeing Zone’ informed by the research, where passengers can take time out to stretch and do simple exercises onboard, guided by video screens.

Peter Cistulli, Professor of Sleep Medicine at the University of Sydney, said while the research was ongoing, there were clear signs that the interventions implemented during the trial flights reduced the impact of ultra-long-haul travel.

‘The early results are promising, and it’s given us great momentum to look to the next stage of customer research to support Project Sunrise product and service design,’ said Professor Cistulli.

‘We have a multi-disciplinary team of more than ten researchers from medicine, science and engineering backgrounds working together on this project. This includes sleep researchers, circadian experts, nutrition and movement experts. No airline has ever done this kind of research before.

‘The early findings have given us optimism that we can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of international travellers thanks to this partnership with Qantas.’

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the national carrier was excited by the prospect of minimising jet lag and revolutionising international flying for all travellers.

‘Given our geography, Qantas has a long history of using imagination and innovation to overcome the tyranny of distance between Australia and the rest of the world,’ said Mr Joyce.

‘Now that we have the aircraft technology to do these flights, we want to make sure the customer experience evolves as well, and that’s why we’re doing this research and designing our cabins and service differently.

‘Our A350s will have about 100 fewer seats than most of our competitors, which gives us room for more space in all classes as well as a Wellbeing Zone for premium economy and economy passengers to stretch. People can choose how they spend their time, but we’ll make recommendations based on science around menu choices and best times to eat or rest. That extends to before and after the flight to improve how people feel when they arrive on the other side of the world.

‘Importantly, these direct flights actually cut total travel time by more than three hours compared to one-stop services.’

Parallel research has also been done to manage crew wellbeing on these flights, the statement said, which also draws on experience from other ultra-long-haul flights operated by Qantas.

Qantas is scheduled to take delivery of its first A350 in late 2025, with the Project Sunrise launch route between Sydney and New York expected to take off shortly after.

Qantas currently uses Boeing Dreamliners for non-stop flights between London Heathrow and Perth, a distance of 14,498km (9,008 miles).

London to Sydney is a distance of 16,983km (10,553 miles) and New York to Sydney is 15,979km (9,929 miles).