Parents thinking about taking their kids trick or treating for Halloween have been warned about the effects of too many candies.

To make more people aware that the real dangers lurking behind October 31st are not ghosts and ghouls, Calorie Lab has released a list of how much carbohydrate, sugar and fat kids could consume.

A 26-piece serving of candy corn for example may contain no fat, for example, but it has 28 grams of sugar while a regular size bag of M&Ms contains ten grams of fat and 236 calories.

One mini Tootsie Roll contains two grams of sugar and 11 calories, which increases to 25 in the larger size. Non-chocolate Halloween flavours have more than ten grams of sugar and 100 calories, 35 of which are from fat.

Parents of kids going into their freshman year have also been warned to keep an eye on their offspring’s excesses, which have led to a "freshman 15" pound weight gain in his or her first year away.

Women need 2,000 calories a day while men require 2,500, on average.