The study by Dr Wayne Osborne and published on treated.com found that the average Brit consumes 3289 calories in their Christmas dinner, whilst the average American consumes 3291.
The average British/Irish Christmas dinner consists of prawn cocktail, Yorkshire pudding, roast turkey, roast beef, roast gammon, pigs in blankets, stuffing ball, bread sauce, roast potato, mashed potato, Brussels sprouts, winter vegetables, Christmas pudding, Brandy butter, trifle, mince pie, wine and beer.
The country with the lowest calorie intake is Japan with just 1,400 calories consumed on average. The country has a Christmas tradition of eating a KFC box meal on the big day.
A Brits Christmas meal would take an 11-stone person over 14 hours to burn off walking, and around four and a half hours to burn off jogging.
Osborne said: “Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great ceremony. Across the country, every household has its own rituals when it comes to the big day; but I’m sure I speak for most of us when I say that the true main event of festivities is Christmas lunch.
“In the UK, one in four adults is obese, and around two thirds are overweight. Obesity growth rates in the UK are also among the highest in Europe. Consequently, these findings haven’t done the UK’s reputation as the sick man of Europe any favours.”
The GP has suggested several ways to reduce the calorie intake on Christmas Day, including using olive oil instead of goose or duck fat and filling your plate with vegetables first before moving to the protein, carbs and condiments.
To view the full country by country breakdown, click here.