20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America Revealed

Authors of the Bestselling Book Series “Eat This, Not That!” Unveil List of Worst Caloric Offenders at Fast Food and Restaurant Chains

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Eat This, Not That! authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding (top right photo)  revealed the first-ever “Worst Restaurant Foods in America,” as featured in the new book Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide, in stores now.

The list ranks the nation’s worst nutritional offenders at major fast food and restaurant chains across the country, while offering healthier alternatives at each establishment. Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide is the sixth installment in the popular book series, which currently has five million copies in print.

The authors spent months analyzing menus, nutrition labels, and ingredients lists at the most popular chain and fast food restaurants in order to identify the “Worst Restaurant Foods in America.” Zinczenko and Goulding start by evaluating calorie counts, but also take into consideration a cluster of other nutritional markers: fat, saturated fat, sodium levels and added sugar.

As the authors release more “Worst Foods” lists, caloric offenders have been dropped from menus. Among them: Chili’s Awesome Blossom (2,710 calories) and Baskin-Robbins’ Heath Bar Shake (2,310 calories).

Topping the 2009 Restaurant list is the Outback Steakhouse Chocolate Thunder Down Under, which contains more calories than 44 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets and an astounding four and a half days’ worth of saturated fat.

Among the list of the Top 20 Worst Restaurant Foods of 2009:

Worst Sit-Down Burger: Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger (1,820 calories, 46 g fat)

Worst Wrap: T.G.I. Friday’s BBQ Chicken Wrap (1,720 calories)

Worst Pizza: Sbarro Stuffed Pepperoni (1 slice, 960 calories, 42 g fat)

Worst Sit-Down Kids’ Meal: Cheesecake Factory Kids’ Pasta with Alfredo Sauce (1,803 calories, 86 g saturated fat)

Worst Omelet: IHOP Colorado Omelet (1,890 calories, 47 g saturated fat)

Worst Restaurant Food in America of 2009: Outback Steakhouse Chocolate Thunder from Down Under

2,020 calories

88 g saturated fat

161 g carbohydrates

To see the full list of 20 foods by category with nutritional information for each item, visit: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-restaurant-foods-america

For more information on this essential guidebook for navigating American fast food and restaurant chains, visit: http://eatthis.com/

DAVID ZINCZENKO, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health magazine and the Editorial Director of Women’s Health, as well as the author of New York Times bestsellers The Abs Diet and The Abs Diet for Women.

Once an overweight child, Zinczenko has become one of the nation’s leading experts on health and fitness. He is a regular contributor to the Today show and has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, Primetime Live, 20/20, The Rachael Ray Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

MATT GOULDING is a contributing food editor for Men’s Health. He has cooked and eaten his way around the world, touching down in New York, New York, where he divides most of his time between keyboard and stovetop.

Contacts:  Rodale, Agnes Hansdorfer, 212-257-1505, Asst. Director of Public RelationsAgnes.Hansdorfer@Rodale.com