How Bad Are 'America's Unhealthiest Meals'?

[Roadstr]

This story (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Health/story?id=8013761&page=1) was on ABC GMAC yesterday.
From the article; "Our three-course meal: an appetizer (deep fried macaroni and cheese), entree (quesadilla burger) and dessert (mega-sized deep dish sundae) packed 6,190 calories and 187 grams of saturated fat."
They showed the blood sample after the meal and you could see the fat floating on top of the blood in the vile they held up to the camera."
They also showed the impact it had on the heart.
What's really shocking to me is that there are people that will actually eat a meal like that! :eek:

[mcsblues]

They showed the blood sample after the meal and you could see the fat floating on top of the blood in the vile they held up to the camera.

Ugh, And I'd just eaten too! That brings back memories. In a past life I worked in the laboratory of a local industrial plant. One of the jobs was to keep a track on the lead levels in the workers blood. To do this you needed to take a 2ml sample (no, sorry, not going to do the conversion - but trust me, 2ml is not very much!). To get an accurate sample you used a pipette - to fill the pipette you sucked - yes I know things have changed a bit - but back then, that is how it was done. The thing is some of the samples had, for want of a better word, 'lumpy bits' in them - when a lumpy bit blocks the end of your pipette ... you suck harder ... when the lumpy bit suddenly clears without warning ...

... never could make it as a vampire ... for one thing I love roasted garlic!:p

[maxlharris]

For what it's worth, I don't think most people eat like this.
Most people probably split the Mac and Cheese (2-4 ways) or have it as a dinner.
Or have the big ass burger with fries and don't eat half the fries.
I have known some (and been a) very big eaters in my time, and I have not met many who would order the sundae after pounding a large app and a large entree. I have not met many who would finish the sunday.

PS- why the focus on Sat Fat and sodium, and no look at carb content. The Mac and Cheese is probably enough to carb me for a week, if not a month.

[Roadstr]

I don't think most people eat like that either and I can't believe any do... but, there are a lot of people that come close... maybe not 6,197 calories and 187 grams of fat, but 2,000 calories and 100 grams of fat in one sitting is certainly in the norm. Have you seen the commercial where a carload of young girls are singing a song for Friendly's and the mom driving the mini van finishes the song off with "and ice cream makes the meal, wwoooOOHH"! Then the commercial shows a drink, hamburger (or something), fries and a sunday!
I know nothing about advertising, but I do know that costs a lot of money for them to air and I don't think Friendly's would be running it if it wasn't effective.
Friendly's French Fries, 1 small 271 calories, 14.5g fat
Friendly's Quesadilla, 610 calories, 39 g fat
Friendly's Reese's Pieces Ice Cream Sunday 930 calories, 54g fat
I'll let you do the math... and that's without the chocolate shake! I think people still drink those?;)
I'm not saying fat is bad... boy, I don't want to drive down that road again... way too bumpy!:o

For what it's worth, I don't think most people eat like this.
Most people probably split the Mac and Cheese (2-4 ways) or have it as a dinner.
Or have the big ass burger with fries and don't eat half the fries.
I have known some (and been a) very big eaters in my time, and I have not met many who would order the sundae after pounding a large app and a large entree. I have not met many who would finish the sunday.

PS- why the focus on Sat Fat and sodium, and no look at carb content. The Mac and Cheese is probably enough to carb me for a week, if not a month.

[laughingW]

Stories like that where they reinforce the "fat and calories are the cause of all this" just make me want to go out and order at least the big ass burger, just because.

[mcsblues]

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/abcs-big-meal-propaganda/#more-3186

Still doesn't make me any more comfortable about those vampire days!

[maxlharris]

I know nothing about advertising, but I do know that costs a lot of money for them to air and I don't think Friendly's would be running it if it wasn't effective.
The key thing with Advertising is to remember this exchange from Gone With the Wind.
"Askin' ain't gettin'."

"But I still have to ask."


Friendly's puts out an ad with a suggestion. Quesadilla, fries, shake, ice cream. Different people take something different home from it.
The key message is, regardless of what you get, ice cream makes the meal. Clearly, you took that home.
The secondary message is: We have quesadillas, and as Ludo said on Top Chef Masters last night, Everybody loves Quesadillas (of course, Ludo finished last out of his group, but this is what happens when a French person tries to make street food, in general, much less out of pig ears). You wouldn't associate Friendly's with quesadillas, so, they put a picture of it on the screen.
Third: Milk shakes.

Fries are essentially negative margin, since you pay the same if you get em or don't, so I'm surprised they didn't feature onion rings, which are usually an upsell from fries.

From Friendly's point of view:
If you want to come in, we love you.
If you want to get all that, sweet.
If you just have ice cream after whatever you get, nice also.

I have digressed plenty.
Please do not confuse what you see in TV ads with what people actually do. Else you might believe that hot women will want to hang out with you based on your preference of beer or hair cream. If that jibes with your experience, please hop in your time machine, and help me out back when I lived in LA.

[Frank Hagan]

Dr. Mike's article linked above is pretty instructive on this. The fat they show in the blood sample cannot be from the fat in the sandwich ... only carbs add fat to the bloodstream within two hours (fast insulin response, release of triglycerides into bloodstream)! The doctors know, or should know, that fact, so they are either misleading people or victims themselves of inappropriate editing.

Either way, its a crock!

[Roadstr]

Well, this morning, Wed. 7/29/2009, ABC said they received many emails from those that wondered what would their blood look like if they ate a "healthy meal". GMAC did that test and tested their blood after the healthy meal and looked at the diameter of blood vessels. The meal was salmon, soybeans and 1/2 slice of apple pie...maybe something else so don't hold me to it. The results showed arteries were expanded like after exercising and there was no fat in the blood like after the previous heavy "unhealthy" meal.

[Roadstr]

Here is the link (http://a.abcnews.com/m/screen?id=8196665&pid=248) to the ABC spot.

[Roadstr]

Well, sorry here is the link (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8196665&page=1) to the ABC story. I would have liked to see them have the result of the meal without the rice.

[johankrava]

What's really shocking to me is that there are people that will actually eat a meal like that!

Well, you must be an idiot to have such a meal.