@TenaciousC: "BMI is a poor measure" but "you're obese because BMI says so". what kind of twisted logic is this? i understand that judging a person based on their profile picture is a poor measure, but you're fat based on your profile picture. don't worry everyone, i said it was a bad measure but i'm going to make a claim since i can't see the person and he can't smack me upside the head when i'm being stupid. but i said it was a bad measure, so it's ok.

if you knew what BMI was, then you'd know you can't actually determine a person's BMI by consulting a chart. the charts assume you've got some standard ratio of fat to muscle. if you're a muscly (officially pronounced muskely) person, the charts don't mean shit. come on over and you can decide if your BMI charts apply, and then i get to smack you upside the head.

@david.c:

By your logic, "educating" consumers means steering them away from products you consider potentially harmful, hence the comments, re: social control. "Better choices" means forcing people to do what you or some benevolent government entity thinks is best, leaving no room whatsoever for personal responsibility.

Again, the cigarette example applies here: you are demanding that a legal, legitimate product be required to "un-sell" itself to potential consumers.

What do you need to make an informed choice about milkshakes, beyond "more than one per week and you're an idiot?" Maybe you could force people to show Proof of Exercise before purchasing said tasty treat?

I understand the point of the story, thank you very much, Mr. Condescendingpants. I just don't agree with it, or you. If you're the type of person who actually has to compare nutrition information between milkshakes, then Mr. Darwin's work is already half-finished.

The point of the story was to ask B&R Corporation to educate it's customers so they can make an informed "choice".

Personally I will enjoy a "Shake" from the virtually unlimited choices I have ... but if I don't know that Shake X is far far worse then Shake Y, do I really have the information necessary to make that choice?

No ... hence the story ... and hence why your comment is off base.

I need to gain some weight.

I'm off to find the nearest Baskin Robbins!

Thanks for the tip.

"I think corporations need to share just a little responsibility too, and not sell piles of liquid sugar and fat like this."

Choices:
1. Prepare your own food vs. eating out
2. 2700 Baskin Robbins locations in the U.S. vs. virtually unlimited choices, i.e. anywhere there is a Baskin Robbins, there will be someplace else as well
3. Choose the Death Shake at BR vs. some other menu item

Here's the beautiful thing about living in a free society: none of us will ever have to eat this thing if we don't want to. We have choices.

FALSE: If I eat this once, as a treat, I am going to die.
TRUE: If I eat it regularly, then I'm a fool and the Social Darwinism so abhorred by the Nerf Society takes over. I get fat, then I die.

Remember that riduculous artery buster that Hardee's put out a while back? This isn't about "making informed choices", it's about social control. Once the busybodies finished with cigarettes, they turned their attention to yummy snacks.

Be very afraid.

Before I am flamed, i understand BMI is a poor measure. However stre's BMI indicated you are obese. So unless you have a significant amount of lean muscle mass, im sure it doesn't "fit you". This is exactly the thinking that causes obese people to remain obese.

Your BMI: 30

BMI Categories:

* Underweight = <18.5
* Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
* Overweight = 25-29.9
* Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

@morganlh85: consider me a mutant. though my nutritional needs aren't all that different, which is why i weigh 2.5 times what my girlfriend does. (relax, she's 95 pounds and i weigh 240 at 6'3". i'm not exactly skinny but no one in their right mind has ever thought i weighed 240 since it fits me)

I think the important thing to take out of the nutritional information is that the shake contains 120% of your daily requirement of calcium. that makes it a health food.

It really is the best beverage in the world. I was always scared it had a calorie content similar to the Heath Shake, but it is only 660. It does appear to contain 86% of your RDA of saturated fat.

Keep in mind, we SHARED this. I would never advise taking on one of these by yourself.

I think my theory is much more interesting :P

Of course, that's if the Type 2 diabetes caused by all 266 grams of that sugar doesn't get you first.

Consuming sugar does not cause diabetes.

[www.diabetes.org]

I'm sure the American Diabetes Association kind of wishes it did -- because that would mean it's easily prevented and cured. But...no.

Eat one on a regular basis? Maybe not a good idea.

Eat one occasionally as the special treat it's meant to be? (I mean, it's sold at Baskin Robbins, not the produce aisle of the damn grocery store.) Why not?

BTW, this thing is 32 fl oz, or 1 litre. A milkshake that size could easily be shared between 2-4 people, and I doubt many people could finish the whole thing on their own unless they'd missed a meal or three.

So could we, like, tone down the FOOD ALARMISM!!!! spiel a little bit? If you don't like something, or find too much/too rich for you, then don't eat it. It's as simple as that. You don't need to start screaming about how it will KILL EVERYONE.

And not labelling A LITRE OF ICE CREAM AND SYRUP as being, yes, quite calorific, isn't exactly misleading or fraudulent -- unless the consumer is a bonafide dipshit.

...wait, what?
The shake is so calorie laden that it needs a propellant to get to your mouth?

If you need that information on this at the time of purchase you are an idiot. Inch of caramel on the bottom means don't get it if you are watching your weight or eating healthy. Also the last thing i want is a menu with a crap load of nutritional info on it. You can kind of tell whats good for you or bad for you if you are halfway intelligent. People need to stop passins the buck for their laziness.

1. Ewwwww
2. Ewwwwwwwww
3. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I think I shall go eat an entire head of broccoli.

Choice is great, but this is insanity with a straw.

Who knew that the Heath Shake didn't have crustaceans in it?

And yes, sugar is less disgusting than HFCS, contrary to the intended point of your sarcastic remark.

Who needs that crap? All summer I was blending milk with mixed frozen fruit from Costco, sometimes with a little chocolate or honey. Hell, sometimes I was eating them for lunch, and it's certainly better than a "death shake".

@weakdome:

Yeah, the GRAVEYARD.

;-)

When I used to work at B&R as a kid, you were allowed two free scoops of ice cream per shift and I'd make a shake with the Peanut Butter & Chocolate ice cream.

Now that's good calorie-laden eatin'...

@amillians: Health care/ premiums are a seperate issue here.

But your employees or anyone else's for that matter are making choices,including to eat and use the health coverage that was arranged for the them.

Overweight or too much fat usually comes from burning less calories than you take in.If people don't know when to stop eating or show restraint or worse yet not exercise that is their problem.Alot of health issues come from the lack of education,basic education.

Why should people be penalized in the way of choices for someone else's weight.Baskin Robbins is not the cheapest junk food around.It's not as accessable as the dollar store or a candy bar from 7-11.Nor is
Baskin Robbins touting this as healthy food.Most people treat a place like Baskin Robbins let alone the food from Baskin Robbins as a treat or dessert place and not a primary source of nutrition.

If somebody has special dietary requirments fine put a few labels on the stuff.Not everybody is going to function or react the same way to food.

Thanks Baskin Robbins! Now I know what to serve at our company picnic...might as well get our monies worth on the healthcare front.

Lighten Up!and not Baskin Robbins.

I agree with zeke and grimm .

It all depends on the individual,yeah if you have one of these a day it MIGHT be trouble.It depends on your lifestyle,fitness habits or body metabolism.These things aren't as cheap as the McDonalds dollar menu either

If you want to note calories,or sugar or peanut content fine but to ban,penalize or judge because someone wants to eat this and can eat this is wrong.

At least it's made with low-fat milk

That's why you don't see a daily percentage on that chart.

I would sincerely hope the manufacturers are looking to phase out trans fats in mre's, since a number of countries are in the process of forcing companies to reduce or eliminate trans fats from the food that their citizens eat.

but yes, thats alot of freakin' calories. i'm not saying they should stop selling it, but i think places need to be more open as to how many calories are in their food. fat makes food taste good, but i'm sure that if some of the items in this thing were replaced with lower fat items, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Of course, the smallest size they sell is a 16 oz., so if you wanted anything near a reasonable serving size (6 or 8 oz.), you'd still be throwing some away.

On the other hand, you could buy the small and split it with someone. 495 calories for a dessert seems much more reasonable.

Having said that, I for one want to try this milkshake. Damn the calories and fat, it's not like I'm gonna eat two anyways.

Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are too high, as the page says. What it does NOT say is that sugar CAUSES diabetes. It DOES NOT.

Eating a candy bar will not GIVE you diabetes.

Drinking a milkshake will not GIVE you diabetes.

Seriously, I'm over here trying to fight misinformation and this sort of thing is making it worse.

@Whyspir:

It sure does look good.
I like the candy bar as it is.

...Am I the only one that actually wants to have one of those?

I mean, sure as hell it's not good for me and I would probably die from eating it...

BUT IT LOOKS SO GOOD!

I think I gained a pound just by looking at the picture...

The ingredient list has to be one for the record books. But aren't we overreacting just a bit? At least it has no trace of crustacean.

All I can say is "Yummm!!" That's decadence at it's finest. I was hitting the Baskin-Robbins on vacation pretty much every night,but I never tried one of those.

The DQ Moo-Latte rules all,and they're cheaper than what you get at that coffee place.

I've gotten to where I don't buy any of those types of drinks anymore. I usually treat myself to one onn special occasions such as my birthday,the holidays,vacation etc...

That stuff goes straight to my gut and rear-end.

At 5 am, people always misread it as "Health" and would order 2 or 3 of them with their morning coffee, thinking they were healthy. >_<

I just did the math. This abomination is 55 Weight Watchers points. To be allowed that number of points in one day you would have to weigh almost 550 lbs!

I don't know anyone who buys a 20 oz. bottle of soda and then takes 2.5 days to drink it.

"I'm having a health shake."

"No, moron. That's a HEATH shake."

I'll take the Angioplasty for $500, Alex.

Even at 125 lbs, I wouldn't consume this if I hadn't eaten anything all day. This makes a Big Mac looks healthy conscious.

But 320% of your recommended daily allowance of saturated fat?

266 g of sugar?

And trans fat -- 2.5 grams -- is this really necessary??

So, my choice is, have one of these shakes, or have 3 days of sensible meals -- but not both?

In any case, in the 70's, we did not have access to this kind of nutritional information. Kudos to whoever has in 2008 made it available (at least on-line, if not at the point of purchase). Customers should absolutely have the right to buy these toxic confections. They just should have adequate notice of how toxic they are.

32 ounces of Corn Syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

Yep, yep, yep.

[www.fda.gov]

(no I do not make the milk, cost too much, and then I have to kill the cow).

I don't think you're milking the cow correctly.

i know better than to even try it, but that amount of sugar would hospitalize me, literally

Jebus, people.

Making fun is all well and good but can you imagine that on top of a big slice of dutch apple pie?

That's what cardiologists are for.

And it really does sound good... doesn't it?

I'd seriously pay money for nicely crafted liquid candies served in 1.5 oz sizes. I mean, I know the existing blenders wouldn't work for that volume, but I want it and I'm not in the mood to be realistic.

Good god, who eats this crap??? I'm almost vomiting just thinking about all that fat & sugar.

I agree that people should be able to choose their own foods but items like this are just ridiculous. There needs to be some sort of corporate responsibility to not put out HORRIBLY unhealthy things such as this shake. They need to at least start printing the nutrition facts on the cups. I bet you anything that there are people who order this & have NO IDEA just how ungodly bad it really is. I wouldn't have guessed it was that unhealthy, that's for sure.

The hired hands there have crabs. Does that count?

If you're recommended diet is 2-3k, and you ate this shake, you'd get your calories for the day, but not much else, like nutrients and such. So, your body would keep craving other things for sustenance. That's how baskin robbins makes us fat!

A person whose girth requires them to occupy two seats on an airplane, but only buys one ticket, boards a plane, sits next to me, and then pulls out this drink.

The sheer F-U of that action would be the coolest thing I would ever see.

That would make a great dessert to dinner when I am out firefighting.

Seriously, I have eaten an MRE(3,000 calories) between lunch and dinner quite a few times. When you are working hard and exercising, you eat more.

That said, if your recommended diet is around 3,000/day, that would be most of your food for the day.

1. I love milkshakes.
2. I love Heath bars.
3. I'd probably eat half a small & realize I made a mistake.

Each time I crave a Blizzard from DQ (maybe twice a year), I just remind myself of the last time I had one. It was like getting a new cavity with every spoonful.

Food with nutritional content this grim will taste like it.

Woman an a diet? No problem! just split one, and an apple, and you'll be good to go for the entire day.

What do they want a healthy Ice Cream shop? Also I think the inch layer of caramel on the bottom of the glass should be the tip that its not o healthy for you.

PS. I think it looks quite tasty

(I'm the guy who submitted the story, BTW. I figured folks would find it amusing/scary.)

People should do whatever they want to their bodies, but they should also be making informed choices.

Good thing im lactose intolerant

Maybe? What's made you so unsure?

And considering how very infrequently it would be wise for anybody to consume that, it's doubly sick that the company isn't forced to provide information to people about what's in it.

Duh.

But even with the ludicrously high calorie content, if you have one once every month or two, eat healthy the rest of the time, and are active, it won't kill you.

Nevertheless, our society is one that sets standards about what is and is
not acceptable to consume, where "acceptance" hinges *solely* on real or
perceived health benefits.

That is, as a gambling man, I would bet that this 'death shake' is
unhealthier for you than a marijuana joint. I would partake of neither, yet
the former is freely available while the latter is a criminalized,
controlled substance.

I'll go as far as to say that the "Death Shake" causes more aggregate bodily
harm than all the prostitutes in all of North America, yet which is
criminalized?

And so forth.

this milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

I agree. Companies should be putting the nutritional info right there with the price though. I'm sure many many people will buy that thing not knowing how bad it is like it says in the article.

Before I started eating healthy I used to eat whatever I wanted without a care in the world. Now I look back and see something like the chicken crispers at Chilis having 130 grams of fat. (not including fries, dipping sauce, etc.) Thats nuts. Even when I wasn't eating healthy having 130 grams of fat and 1200 calories written next to the price would have made me eat something else.

I totally want one now. I love Heath Bars....