Milo has a special place in Singapore's taste buds and health, even in Singapore's heritage if you believe the marketing. It has that old school taste of home, much beloved by many. When it comes to calories, how might it compare to everyone's other favourite flavoured sugar water, Coca Cola?
Below we see how two of Singapore's favourite beverages stack up against each other and how this can lead to caloric confusion and poor health outcomes.
Why is this Important?
A January 2025 study (Lara-Castor et al, citation at bottom of page) looked at how sugary drinks (also called sugar-sweetened beverages, or SSBs) contribute to the global health problems of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). It found that in 2020, sugary drinks were linked to 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide. This means about 1 in 10 new diabetes cases and 1 in 30 new heart disease cases could be traced back to sugary drinks. Sadly, around 340,000 deaths from these conditions that year were also linked to sugary drink consumption. The study also revealed differences in the impact of sugary drinks based on age, gender, education and whether people lived in cities or rural areas.
The findings were based on a detailed model that used results from previous high-quality studies to connect sugary drink consumption to health outcomes. The stronger link between sugary drinks and diabetes compared to heart disease may be because diabetes is more affected by weight gain, and sugary drinks are often consumed in larger amounts during younger years when diabetes tends to develop. For heart disease, other major risk factors like smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure may overshadow the impact of sugary drinks.
Comparing Milo to Coca-Cola
Note, due to differences in package volume - the size of the container - we will state the calories per 100ml.
Original Milo, 1 can (240ml)
Calories 149kcal
Total Sugar 16.6g
Per 100ml: Calories 62kcal, Total Sugars 6.9g
Coca Cola, Original Taste, 1 can (320ml)
Calories 61kcal
Total Sugar 14.7g
Per 100ml: Calories 19kcal, Total Sugars 4.6g
Scroll to bottom of page to see packaging images and labelling info
Final Thoughts
Wait, a smaller can of Milo has over three times the calories than a larger can of big, bad Coca Cola?! Milo doesn't sell itself as being a health drink but rather "Nourishing Energy" it is labelled as a 'Healthier Choice'. No wonder that many of the patients that I see at the clinic are confused when it comes to making healthier choices when shopping.
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Felicia
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Related Studies and Resources
Lara-Castor, L., O’Hearn, M., Cudhea, F. et al. Burdens of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages in 184 countries. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03345-4
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