A mooncake has about 421 calories/100g, for example, one lotus seed paste mooncake is equivalent to the calories of three medium-sized hamburgers, while a regular mooncake contains the calories equivalent to eating five fried chicken thighs at once. The reason why mooncakes are so high in calories is because of how they are made.

Because mooncakes are divided into two parts, the outer crust and the inner filling, and the outer crust is made of flour, lard and sugar. Lard and sugar are high in calories, plus the filling inside the mooncake is made with a lot of extra sugar and high-calorie stuff for the sake of taste shock, which is why some mooncakes have a rich and sweet filling inside.