You’ve probably heard the rumors that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. It might seem outlandish, but this statement carries some truth. According to a study done at the University of Bordeaux, the reward pathways in the brain associated with sugar are more robust than those associated with cocaine.
The number of people battling food addiction and the $6.6 billion dollar candy industry corroborate these findings. Both the lab studies and daily human behavior make one thing immediately clear: people love sugar.
Though added sugar hides in many surprising foods (pizza, for example), people often reach for candy when the sweet tooth strikes. Candy makes sense as the go-to sugar fix given that it’s, well, inherently full of sugar. However, some candies are sweeter than others.
To see which candies are most sugar-laden, HealthGrove used data from ESHA to calculate the sugar density (ratio of sugar content to total carbohydrate, fat and protein content) of over 200 candies in their database. The top 50 sweetest treats made the list.
#50. Roca Milk Chocolate Buttercrunch Toffee Roca Thins Candy
Sugar Density: 56.4%
Calories per Serving: 210 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 14.0g
#49. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Air Delight Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 56.4%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#48. Andes Creme De Menthe Thins Candy
Sugar Density: 56.4%
Calories per Serving: 209 cals
Sugar per Serving: 20.9g
Fat per Serving: 13.3g
#47. Snickers Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 56.6%
Calories per Serving: 172 cals
Sugar per Serving: 18.4g
Fat per Serving: 8.6g
#46. Dove Milk Chocolate Promises Candy
Sugar Density: 56.8%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 21.0g
Fat per Serving: 11.0g
#45. Creme Savers Chocolate & Caramel Creme Candy
Sugar Density: 57.1%
Calories per Serving: 170 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 3.5g
#44. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
Sugar Density: 57.1%
Calories per Serving: 210 cals
Sugar per Serving: 24.0g
Fat per Serving: 13.0g
#43. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses Candy
Sugar Density: 57.5%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 23.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#42. Andes Peppermint Crunch Thins Candy
Sugar Density: 57.5%
Calories per Serving: 209 cals
Sugar per Serving: 21.9g
Fat per Serving: 13.3g
#41. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Drops Candy
Sugar Density: 57.5%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 23.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#40. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Nuggets Candy
Sugar Density: 57.5%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 23.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#39. Reese’s Fast Break Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 57.7%
Calories per Serving: 260 cals
Sugar per Serving: 30.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#38. Skinny Cow Caramel Filled Chocolate Candy
Sugar Density: 57.7%
Calories per Serving: 130 cals
Sugar per Serving: 15.0g
Fat per Serving: 7.0g
#37. Cadbury Fruit & Nut Milk Chocolate Bar
Sugar Density: 58.3%
Calories per Serving: 190 cals
Sugar per Serving: 21.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#36. Roca Milk Chocolate Crunch Truffle Candy
Sugar Density: 58.5%
Calories per Serving: 220 cals
Sugar per Serving: 24.0g
Fat per Serving: 13.0g
#35. Snickers Almond Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 58.7%
Calories per Serving: 230 cals
Sugar per Serving: 27.0g
Fat per Serving: 11.0g
#34. M&M’s Dark Chocolate Candy
Sugar Density: 58.7%
Calories per Serving: 240 cals
Sugar per Serving: 27.0g
Fat per Serving: 11.0g
#33. Creme Savers Orange & Creme Candy
Sugar Density: 59.0%
Calories per Serving: 170 cals
Sugar per Serving: 23.0g
Fat per Serving: 4.0g
#32. Andes Toffee Crunch Thins Candy
Sugar Density: 59.0%
Calories per Serving: 209 cals
Sugar per Serving: 21.9g
Fat per Serving: 12.4g
#31. Milka Milk Alpine Chocolate Bar
Sugar Density: 59.4%
Calories per Serving: 180 cals
Sugar per Serving: 19.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#30. Cadbury Caramello Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 59.5%
Calories per Serving: 220 cals
Sugar per Serving: 25.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#29. Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar
Sugar Density: 59.5%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 11.0g
#28. Roca Milk Chocolate Buttercrunch Truffle Roca Thins Candy
Sugar Density: 59.5%
Calories per Serving: 190 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 11.0g
#27. Charleston Chew Vanilla Nougat Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 59.7%
Calories per Serving: 225 cals
Sugar per Serving: 30.5g
Fat per Serving: 6.0g
#26. Heath Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 60.5%
Calories per Serving: 210 cals
Sugar per Serving: 23.0g
Fat per Serving: 13.0g
#25. Sugar Daddy Caramel Candy
Sugar Density: 61.5%
Calories per Serving: 204 cals
Sugar per Serving: 28.8g
Fat per Serving: 2.4g
#24. Twizzlers Sweet & Sour Candy
Sugar Density: 61.5%
Calories per Serving: 140 cals
Sugar per Serving: 20.0g
Fat per Serving: 1.5g
#23. Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate & Nonpareils Sno Caps Candy
Sugar Density: 61.5%
Calories per Serving: 180 cals
Sugar per Serving: 24.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#22. Raisinettes Dark Chocolate Raisinets Raisins
Sugar Density: 61.9%
Calories per Serving: 180 cals
Sugar per Serving: 26.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#21. Toblerone Swiss White Chocolate Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 62.5%
Calories per Serving: 180 cals
Sugar per Serving: 20.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#20. Cadbury Creme Egg Candy
Sugar Density: 62.5%
Calories per Serving: 150 cals
Sugar per Serving: 20.0g
Fat per Serving: 6.0g
#19. Wonka Chocolate Tinglerz Candy
Sugar Density: 63.0%
Calories per Serving: 130 cals
Sugar per Serving: 17.0g
Fat per Serving: 7.0g
#18. Hershey’s Chocolate Caramel Pot of Gold Candy
Sugar Density: 63.2%
Calories per Serving: 190 cals
Sugar per Serving: 24.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#17. Hershey’s Skor Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 63.2%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 24.0g
Fat per Serving: 12.0g
#16. Reese’s Whipps Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 63.3%
Calories per Serving: 230 cals
Sugar per Serving: 31.0g
Fat per Serving: 9.0g
#15. M&M’s Milk Chocolate Coconut Candy
Sugar Density: 63.4%
Calories per Serving: 210 cals
Sugar per Serving: 26.0g
Fat per Serving: 9.0g
#14. Almond Joy Candy
Sugar Density: 64.1%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 25.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#13. Rolo Milk Chocolate Caramel Candy
Sugar Density: 64.4%
Calories per Serving: 220 cals
Sugar per Serving: 29.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#12. Zero Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 64.6%
Calories per Serving: 230 cals
Sugar per Serving: 31.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#11. Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome Chews Candy
Sugar Density: 64.7%
Calories per Serving: 140 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 2.0g
#10. Milky Way Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 66.0%
Calories per Serving: 152 cals
Sugar per Serving: 20.5g
Fat per Serving: 5.8g
#9. Whoppers Maltball Candy
Sugar Density: 66.7%
Calories per Serving: 190 cals
Sugar per Serving: 26.0g
Fat per Serving: 7.0g
#8. M&M’s Milk Chocolate Candy
Sugar Density: 67.4%
Calories per Serving: 240 cals
Sugar per Serving: 31.0g
Fat per Serving: 10.0g
#7. Hershey’s Chocolate Special Dark Candy
Sugar Density: 68.4%
Calories per Serving: 180 cals
Sugar per Serving: 26.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#6. 3 Musketeers Mint Candy Bar
Sugar Density: 68.8%
Calories per Serving: 150 cals
Sugar per Serving: 22.0g
Fat per Serving: 5.0g
#5. Cadbury Milk Chocolate Mini Eggs Candy
Sugar Density: 71.1%
Calories per Serving: 190 cals
Sugar per Serving: 27.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#4. Raisinettes Milk Chocolate Covered Raisinets Cranberries
Sugar Density: 71.4%
Calories per Serving: 200 cals
Sugar per Serving: 30.0g
Fat per Serving: 8.0g
#3. York Peppermint Patty Candy
Sugar Density: 72.5%
Calories per Serving: 140 cals
Sugar per Serving: 25.0g
Fat per Serving: 2.5g
#2. Sun-Maid Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins
Sugar Density: 73.5%
Calories per Serving: 170 cals
Sugar per Serving: 25.0g
Fat per Serving: 6.0g
#1. Tootsie Roll Junior Mints Candy
Sugar Density: 82.1%
Calories per Serving: 170 cals
Sugar per Serving: 32.0g
Fat per Serving: 3.0g
