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As people prepare for a traditional Christmas meal with a host of fixings, health experts issued a report suggesting that plenty of post-dinner exercise is needed to burn off the extra calories.

Figures released by the London-based Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) on Thursday revealed that people need to walk at least four and a half hours to work off the calories of a typical Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, which contains about 1,450 calories.

But that is only the start, as mince pies, Christmas pudding, cheese, biscuits and chocolates will all add up throughout the day.

According to RSPH, the average person will consume around 6,000 calories on Christmas day alone, nearly three times the recommended daily intake for a woman and more than twice the recommended amount for a man.

The report said that a one-fourth portion of Christmas pudding with cream would take nearly two hours of ice-skating to work off; while a turkey-and-stuffing sandwich would take about 44 minutes burn away.