This is the shocking amount of calories you eat while on a flight

Not sure we want to know this, tbh.

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

We can all agree that unless you're one of those lucky people who gets a surprise flight upgrade by doing this, the food on long haul flights isn't exactly the greatest. There's actually a reason why the coffee in particular tastes weird. Yes, when you're in the air on a thirteen hour flight and you're bored out of your mind those little bread rolls and bizarre grape salads are a welcome distraction.

But have you ever thought just how much you eat when flying? Or just how many calories you're consuming if you include the free snacks? And let's not forget the individual-sized wine bottles you knocked back - solely to ease your flight nerves, of course.

In news we never needed or wanted, the amount we consume while at 32,000 ft is WAY more than your recommended daily intake. In fact, it's almost double.

Ready? It has been revealed that the average Brit takes in about 3,400 calories while flying.

Professor Charles Spence, author of Gastrophysics, The New Science of Eating, spoke to Business Insider about how we manage to consume so much during a flight.

'Why do we consume so much? One might be the stress that many of us feel while in the air. When we're stressed we tend to eat more,' he explains.

But that's not the only reason. Professor Spence also went on to say that the sounds we hear while flying can impact the amount we eat. Apparently, the noise from the engines affects our food consumption as the sound suppresses our ability to taste sweet and salty, leading the airlines to add around 15-20% more sugar and salt to food.

So not only are we overeating through stress, we're also consuming a lot more sugar and salt than we would during a regular meal. But if you're on a long-haul flight and don't fancy going hungry for hours and hours, there's not really a way of getting around it.

Our suggestion? Move onto your next glass of wine and try not to think about it.