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(NEW YORK CITY, NY) -- Two food critics, obviously wearing bullet-proof vests, have published a tome listing the worst health-related products at  national fast food and restaurant chains.

David Zinczenkol

New York City-based Rodale Inc. published "Eat This, Not That!" written by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. The authors claims their new book contains "the first-ever worst restaurant foods in America" published nationally.

The list ranks the nation's worst nutritional offenders at major fast food and restaurant chains across the country, while offering healthier alternatives at each establishment.

Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide is the sixth installment in the popular book series, which currently claims five million copies in print.

In a prepared statement, the authors say they "spent months analyzing menus, nutrition labels, and ingredients lists at the most popular chain and fast food restaurants in order to identify the 'Worst Restaurant Foods in America.'"

Matt Goulding

Zinczenko and Goulding start by evaluating calorie counts, but also consider a cluster of other nutritional markers: fat, saturated fat, sodium levels and added sugar.

As the authors release more "Worst Foods" lists, caloric offenders have been dropped from menus. Among them: Chili's Awesome Blossom (2,710 calories) and Baskin-Robbins' Heath Bar Shake (2,310 calories).

Topping the 2009 Restaurant list is the Outback Steakhouse Chocolate Thunder Down Under, which contains more calories than 44 McDonald's Chicken McNuggets and an astounding four and a half days' worth of saturated fat.

Among the list of the Top 20 Worst Restaurant Foods of 2009:

Worst Sit-Down Burger: Applebee's Quesadilla Burger (1,820 calories, 46 g fat)

Worst Wrap: T.G.I. Friday's BBQ Chicken Wrap (1,720 calories)

Worst Pizza: Sbarro Stuffed Pepperoni (1 slice, 960 calories, 42 g fat)

Worst Sit-Down Kids' Meal: Cheesecake Factory Kids' Pasta with Alfredo Sauce (1,803 calories, 86 g saturated fat)

Worst Omelet: IHOP Colorado Omelet (1,890 calories, 47 g saturated fat)

Worst Restaurant Food in America of 2009: Outback Steakhouse Chocolate Thunder from Down Under

The authors claim the  item contains 2,020 calories--88 g saturated fat--161 g carbohydrates

The authors provide a full list of 20 foods by category with nutritional information for each item at http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-restaurant-foods-america

Outback Steakhouse

Zinczenko is editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine,  the editorial director of Women's Health and the author of New York Times bestsellers The Abs Diet and The Abs Diet for Women.

Once an overweight child, Zinczenko is a regular contributor to the Today TV show and has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, Primetime Live, 20/20, The Rachael Ray Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Goulding is a contributing food editor for Men's Health. He says he has cooked and eaten his way around the world, touching down in New York, New York, where he divides most of his time between keyboard and stovetop.

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