Washington Nationals introduce junk food monstrosity, dietitians react

Mar 14, 2012 18:51 GMT  ·  By
New, 8-pound (3.6 kg) burger will be served by the Nats, causes heated debate online
   New, 8-pound (3.6 kg) burger will be served by the Nats, causes heated debate online

As one dietitian puts it, since nothing beats sweating your way through an 8-pound (3.6 kg) mountain of beef, cheese and bread while watching athletes at work, the Washington Nationals have introduced the StrasBurger, which they describe as a “monstrosity” for the entire family.

In a statement released to the press, the Nats boast that the burger, named so in honor of right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg, is ideal for a family outing.

Come out for a game, enjoy some junk food, have the time of your life.

Dietitians are already reacting to the new offer, saying how the StrasBurger is nothing short of death on bread, oozing processed meat and saturated fats, as NBC Washington reports.

Because a burger is never “complete” without a side dish of fries and a glass of soda, the StrasBurger offer also includes them.

After one such meal, the calorie count can go up to 8,000 or even 10,000 calories: in other words, the amount a healthy man would need for about 5 days or so.

The same goes for the saturated fats and the sodium packed in it.

Even if the new burger is split between two or four (or even 8!) people, it's still unhealthy enough even to be considered, Colleen Gerg, a registered dietitian from Chevy Chase, Md., says for the aforementioned publication.

“If the burger is split four ways, each person's portion would therefore be at least 2,000 calories, 150 grams of fat, 50 grams saturated fat and 625 mg of sodium. All of these are higher than what many, if not most, people need in an entire DAY, except for sodium,” Gerg says.

“What's worse, is that even if you split the burger between eight people, then added the cheese, condiments, french fries and soda, each person would still be consuming very close to a full days worth of calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium and (with regular soda) sugar,” she explains.

“And who is really going to split this between eight people? How appetizing could a burger cut into eight portions possibly look anyway?” the expert asks.

She's not alone in voicing concern about how unhealthy such a “treat” is. Others, though, are also wondering whether Strasburg had any say in the decision to come out with the StrasBurger.