Nutrition Experts Warn Fans about Increased Heart Attack Risk from One High-Fat Meal

WASHINGTON—Think you’re getting a deal on Pizza Hut’s PANormous pizza this year? Think again. Consumers will pay a high price in health for popular Super Bowl XLV picks. Dietitians find one Personal PANormous Triple Meat Lover’s Pizza contains 80 grams of fat, 175 milligrams of cholesterol, and 3,670 milligrams of sodium. They want fans to know about the heart attack risk of consuming just one high-fat meal that same day.

Super Bowl Sunday is America’s second-biggest food consumption day of the year, after Thanksgiving, but many fans don’t realize just how unhealthful some football party foods actually are. To help consumers make informed choices, PCRM dietitians analyzed foods heavily promoted as Super Bowl fare.

“Studies show that sports fans already face an elevated risk of heart attack on big game days,” says PCRM dietitian Joseph Gonzales, R.D. “Adding fatty products will raise blood pressure, stiffen major arteries, and cause the heart to beat much faster.”

Here are five products to watch out for:

To see the full analysis or to schedule an interview with registered dietitian Joseph Gonzales, R.D., please contact Jessica Frost at 202-527-7342 or jfrost@pcrm.org.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research,and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.