Scientists Identify The Least Healthy Meals At Popular Chain Restaurants

We all know how bad most fast food meals are for you, but we don’t tend to think the same way about eating at other chain restaurants. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has just come out with their annual “Xtreme Eating List” to show just how bad for you some chain restaurant meals are.

The list contains nine of the least healthy meals available at restaurants throughout the United States, and many of them are well over 2,000 calories. In addition to calorie content, the CSPI looked at sodium, sugar and saturated fat content, and the results were alarming.

Topping the list was the Applebee’s “Build Your Sampler Meal,” which can include items like the Cheeseburger Egg Rolls (pictured above) and contain up to 3,390 calories, 65 grams of saturated fat, and 11,650 milligrams of sodium. Other items on the list included “Marco’s Meal For Two” at Maggiano’s Little Italy, “Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict,” from The Cheesecake Factory, Dave & Buster’s “Short Rib & Cheesy Mac Stack,” and more.

Although some of these meals definitely fall under the category of extreme, it’s a reminder to restaurant patrons that when dining out you’re eating a lot more of those unhealthy ingredients than you realize. To make more nutritious choices, the CSPI recommends ordering from the “light” menu, skipping appetizers and bringing half your entree home for later.