New research from the European Food Information Council has found that 35 per cent of people hold this misconception.
Colin Waine, chair of the National Obesity Forum, expressed his concern that parents are overfeeding their children as a result.
He said: "We have a tragic problem with the number of children who are overweight and obese. It is very worrying indeed that people have this kind of misconception."
The study, which was conducted in the three supermarket chains, Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco, also found that only one in four people in the UK look for nutrition information on food labels.
The research is part of a wider study being carried out in six EU countries.
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