'Dietary disaster' or a 4,800-calorie gimmick?

Summary

The staff dietitian at a doctors group says a minor-league baseball team in Grand Rapids, Mich., should warn fans that a 4,800-calorie burger it plans to sell is bad for them.

Story Published: Mar 31, 2009 at 3:23 PM PDT

Story Updated: Apr 1, 2009 at 2:55 PM PDT

'Dietary disaster' or a 4,800-calorie gimmick?

Josh Kowalczyk, an intern with the West Michigan Whitecaps, in Comstock Park, Mich. poses for a photo March 24, 2009.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - The staff dietitian at a doctors group says a minor-league baseball team in Grand Rapids, Mich., should warn fans that a 4,800-calorie burger it plans to sell is bad for them.

Susan Levin of the Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sent a letter to the West Michigan Whitecaps on Tuesday. She wants the enormous burger to be labeled a "dietary disaster" that increases the risk of cancer and heart disease.

The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips - all on an 8-inch bun.

Whitecaps spokesman Mickey Graham says the team hasn't considered labeling the burger, which he says is a gimmick being promoted as a very unhealthy menu item.

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