Supersized!!!

With Heaping Servings, Some Restaurants Pack A Day's Worth Of Food Into One Meal

Boston [02.07.01] -- Fast food chains aren't the only restaurants serving up "super sizes."

   According to a survey by nutritionists at the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, many restaurants provide enough food to last all day.

   "Nutrition experts with the newsletter went out in the Boston area and bought 20 meals from several popular restaurant chains," reported USA Today. "They weighed and measured the content of the meals, then compared the servings with what the government considers a single serving."

   The results were astonishing.

   ABC News' Peter Jennings reported that the Tufts nutrition experts "found that many entrees at popular restaurants contain more meat or bread than someone needs in an entire day."

   A full plate of ribs from Houlihan's, for example, contained two-times the amount of meat recommended for daily intake, the nutritionists concluded.

   "It's not the restaurant industry's responsibility to keep Americans from overeating," Larry Linder -- executive editor of the Tufts newsletter -- told USA Today.

    "Restaurant meals keep getting bigger, but no matter how big they get, it's up to the diner to push the plate away, share a meal or ask for a hefty doggy bag."