Survey: Kids eat 5.5 lbs of Easter candy

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LONDON, April 2 (UPI) -- A British survey suggests children in the country will consume an average of more than 5.5 pounds of chocolate during Easter weekend.

Retail Active, a company that sends mystery shoppers to pose as customers and evaluate stores, said its e-mail survey of 2,000 people, conducted earlier this week, found many children get 13 or more chocolate eggs to eat on their own for Easter, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"Families with two adults in their 40s and two children under 14 could have an amazing cumulative total of 30 Easter eggs in the household over the holiday," Retail Active managing director Julian Chamberlain said.

"Seventy-seven percent of adults allow their children to tuck into their Easter egg binge first thing on Easter morning -- before having any breakfast or even a drink," he said.

"Only 3 percent of the people polled said they look at the nutritional content of Easter eggs and this means that they may be unaware of the huge calorie and fat intake."

The report listed no margin of error for the survey.