You probably know the popcorn at the movie theaters is far from healthy, but did you know having a medium popcorn and soda from a major national chain is like eating three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter? That’s according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

CSPI says the popular combo from Regal, the country’s biggest movie chain, has 1,610 calories and three days’ worth – 60 grams – of saturated fat.

The study is an update to research CSPI did on movie theater popcorn 15 years ago.

Here are some other movie theater popcorn stats from CSPI’s new report:

Regal
Small, 11 cups
Calories 670
Saturated fat 34 g
Sodium 550 mg

AMC
Small, 6 cups
Calories 370
Saturated fat 20 g
Sodium 210 mg

Cinemark
Small, 8 cups
Calories 420
Saturated fat 2 g [popped in canola oil]
Sodium 690 mg

Makes me want to bring my own microwave popcorn to the movies! You?

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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According to the Calorie Control Council, the average American may have more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat from eating a traditional Thanksgiving dinner… and snacking throughout the day. Think you know your T-Day numbers? Here’s a fun little quiz to find out.

See if you can match these popular holiday foods and drinks with the right number of calories and fat in each one.

Popular Thanksgiving Day foods and drinks:

1. Roasted Turkey – (no skin) 4 slices (4 oz.)
2. Cranberry Sauce – 1/2 cup
3. Cornbread Stuffing – 1 cup
4. Green Bean Casserole – 1 cup
5. Mashed Potatoes – 1 cup
6. Pecan Pie – 1/8 of 9″ pie
7. Pumpkin Pie (without whipped cream) – 1/8 of 9″ pie
8. Eggnog (whole milk without alcohol) – 1 cup
9. Wine (dry, red or white) – 7 oz.
10. Biscuit – 1 two-inch roll

Calories and fat per serving:

A. 106 calories, 5g fat
B. 142 calories, 0g fat
C. 143 calories, 8g fat
D. 190 calories, 6g fat
E. 209 calories, 0g fat
F. 238 calories, 8g fat
G. 323 calories, 15g fat
H. 342 calories, 19g fat
I. 363 calories, 18g fat
J. 456 calories, 21g fat

For the answers, click here. Then come back and let me know how you did!

[Source: Calorie Control Council]

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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Congrats to FatFighterTV member – Karen – for winning last week’s giveaway for the book, Does My BUTT Look BIG In This BEER? Enjoy!

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Earlier this month, Coke announced it was going to display larger calorie information on its products. Now, it says it will sell 90-calorie mini cans of its soft drinks to help people manage their calories. The smaller pops will come in the Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq’s Root Beer brands and will be sold in packages of eight. The new cans will launch in New York and Washington D.C. in December and are expected to hit stores nationwide early next year.

Personally, I don’t drink soft drinks, but I’m glad to see this option for people who do. What do you think of the smaller cans?

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Just how much do city kids eat at corner stores after school? A new study looked at the snacking habits at K-8 Philadelphia schools where half of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Results show children usually buy chips, candy and sweetened drinks, spend an average of $1 each time, and eat 350 calories worth of snacks at each visit. Researchers say 42-percent of the kids went to the corner stores twice a day which adds up to eating more than 3,500 calories – the number of extra calories it takes to gain a pound.

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Okay, all you health conscious beer lovers – this one’s for you. I mean, who else would a book called, Does My BUTT Look BIG In This BEER? be for?

Author Bob Skilnik gives you nutritional information for more than 2,000 worldwide beers in this paperback guide. Does My BUTT Look BIG In This BEER? lists calories, carbs, even Weight Watchers Points for stouts, porters, bocks, wheat beers or just the simple American-style pilsners.

One FatFighterTV member gets a copy of the book this week. How do you enter for a chance to win? Easy. Just tell me what your favorite beer is and whether you know how may calories are in it. These days, I’m loving Blue Moon, but not the 171 calories in 12 ounces. Good thing I don’t drink very often!

Contest runs through midnight EST this Friday, October 16, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter, and we will use random.org to pick the winner.

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[Photo Credit: iStockPhoto]

What happens when appetizers at America’s top sports bar chains face off calorie to calorie… and fat gram to fat gram? FatFighterTV digs in to see which game day grub scores the most unhealthy penalties.

First up – the calorie champ:

1. Champps Americana: Champps’ Mile High Nachos w/Chicken scored 3600 calories and 224 grams of fat – Even I’m guilty of indulging in these, and I only shared them with one other person. I didn’t know they had as many calories as seven Quarter Pounders with Cheese. Yikes! Next time, I’ll invite more people!

FatFighterTV asked a Champps Americana spokesperson to comment on the Nachos’ first place ranking. “Our Nachos are an ideal item to share with 6-7 friends (easily),” says Rachel Phillips-Luther, Vice President- Marketing. “When you consider sharing that item with several friends, the calorie content per person is much more reasonable.”

*Second and third place high calorie honors both go to wings at The Greene Turtle:

2. The Greene Turtle: Smoky BBQ Boneless Wings – 25 of ‘em with Bleu Cheese dressing have 3180 calories and 199 grams of fat. They may be boneless, but they’re still fried, and it shows in the huge amount of fat and calories.

3. The Greene Turtle: Smoky BBQ Chicken Wings – 25 wings with Bleu Cheese dressing have 2984 calories and 211 fat grams – as much fat as what you get in seven Big Macs. Seriously.

4. Buffalo Wild Wings: Parmesan Garlic Boneless Wings – 24 with Bleu Cheese dressing have 2872 calories and 222 grams of fat. Watch out if you’re winging it bone-free. The boneless wings rack up more calories than the traditional ones at both The Greene Turtle and BW3.

5. The Greene Turtle: Southern Chicken Sliders with Crab Imperial – Get the Double Play (2 four-packs) and you’ll get 2730 calories and 98 grams of fat. Eat too many of these fried chicken sliders and you may not be able to slide into your jeans!

6. Buffalo Wild Wings: Parmesan Garlic Wings – 24 with Bleu Cheese dressing add up to 2488 calories and 198 grams of fat. What? Wings made it on this list again???!

7. Ram Restaurant & Brewery: Ram Favorites Platter – 2464 calories, 48 grams of saturated fat. Potato Skins, Mozzarella Sticks, Mini Cheese Quesadilla, Calamari and Buffalo Tenders with a variety of sauces. Even if you share this sampler with a friend, you’re still getting a day and a half’s worth of saturated fat, based on recommendations from the American Heart Association.

8. Champps’ Sampler Platter – 2072 calories, 121 grams of fat. Mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, potato skins and Buffalo wings served with a variety of sauces. As fried as it gets.

9. Ram Restaurant & Brewery: BBQ Chicken Quesadilla – 2066 calories, 54 grams of saturated fat. You’d have to run at a pace of six MPH for two hours just to burn off the calories from this mega meal. (based on someone who weighs 140 pounds)

10. Fox and Hound Pub & Grille: Grand Champion Wings/Hot Sauce - 1960 calories, 164 grams of fat – What’s up with all the wings on this list? Someone cry fowl!

Doing this research got me thinking – Why is it that we like to eat this kind of food when we watch sports, anyway? And while it’s nice to share appetizers, knowing that you’re going to share can make it more tempting to order more than one. Think of all the fat and calories you’re adding when you do that.

Oh, and while we were at it, FatFighterTV also compiled a list of the 10 Football Not-As-Fatties – appetizers with the fewest calories from the same sports bar chains, just in case you would rather order the lesser evils.

*Calories for an order of 25 boneless wings with bleu cheese dressing at The Greene Turtle range from 2649-3180, depending on the sauce. For the traditional wings, they range from 2452-2984.

Information Unknown
FatFighterTV contacted two other top sports bars. Damon’s Grill told us its nutrition information was not yet available but “please know we have placed this on our marketing plan as a high priority for our current fiscal year.”

Not Playing Ball
ESPN Zone said, “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with accurate nutritional information about our menu items. Much of that information depends on the condiments that we liberally add, along with the accompaniments that guests select.” Hmmm… the other sports bars use condiments and they didn’t have a problem coming up with the information.

How we did it
FatFighterTV determined the top sports bar chains based on information from Restaurants & Institutions’ 2009 Casual Dining rankings based on food and beverage sales. The nutrition information for both The Greene Turtle and Champps Americana was available online at each restaurant’s website. We contacted the other three sports bars as an average customer to see how quickly we could get the information. All of them – Fox and Hound Pub & Grille, Ram Restaurant & Brewery, and Buffalo Wild Wings – responded promptly. This report is based only on information available at the time of publication. Menus may vary by location.

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Counting calories may soon become easier to do at restaurants. Chains have now agreed to support legislation that would require them to post calories on their menus. Restaurants with 20 or more locations would have to list the number of calories in each item. And if someone asks, they would also have to show them other nutritional information like the amount of sugar, salt or cholesterol in the food. Congress is expected to discuss the menu labeling law during the next few weeks.

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It’s back. A bill Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced that would require nutrition labeling on chain-restaurant menus across the country was reintroduced today. If the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act passes, fast-food and other chain restaurants would have to post calories on menu boards and list calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium on printed menus.

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You’ve probably heard that portions have gotten bigger over the years, but do you know how much bigger? Check out some of these popular foods and see how different things were 20 years ago than they are now.

20 years ago: a bagel was three inches in diameter and had 140 calories.
Today’s portion: six inches and 350 calories.

20 years ago: a cheeseburger had 333 calories.
Today’s portion: 590 calories.

20 years ago: a portion of spaghetti and meatballs used to have 500 calories.

Today’s portion: 1,025 calories. This includes two cups of pasta with sauce and three large meatballs.

20 years ago: French fries were 2.4 ounces and 210 calories.
Today’s portion: 6.9-ounces with 610 calories.

20 years ago: a turkey sandwich had 320 calories.
Today’s portion: a 10-inch turkey sandwich has 820 calories.

Even though I know portions are bigger, actually seeing these examples – which by the way, are from the National Institutes of Health – really brings it home. No wonder obesity rates are so out of control in this country.

Did any of these portions surprise you?

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