SHAPE UP
Love Italian food? Quite a spread (on you)

By Charles Stuart Platkin

My biggest food weakness is Italian — spaghetti, pasta primavera, garlic bread, and my favorite, chicken parmigiana.

I've put off researching this topic for years now so that I could live in denial. But the time has come to take a magnifying glass to some of the crowning achievements of the food world.

Like that of other Mediterranean countries, Italy's cuisine is rich in grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables and olive oil, all of which may play a role in preventing heart disease and cancer.

So what's fattening about the Italian food you're eating? Almost everything. In one entree-sized serving, you can eat enough to put on an entire pound of body fat, which would take 5 hours and 9 minutes of jumping rope to burn off.

Unless you know what to look for, an Italian menu can be hazardous to your health.

Pasta la vista, baby

Yes, pasta can be a healthy choice at times; it's the preparation and what's added that cause complications. The sauces, the sides, and even the vegetables are not only cooked in oil, but sometimes butter and cheese are added for flavor (not to mention extra fat).

Your best defense is to ask the waiter to pack half your meal in a doggie bag before it's even brought out.

• Spaghetti and meatballs: 1,086 calories, 35g fat, 146g carbs.
• Potato gnocchi: 804 calories, 39g fat, 99g carbs.
• Stuffed shells (6 jumbo shells): 780 calories, 32g fat, 82g carbs.
• Pasta primavera: 542 calories, 23g fat, 62g carbs.

Deep-fried pounds

Frying is pretty standard for mozzarella and zucchini sticks, calamari, and of course chicken, veal, and eggplant parmigiana. You might think eggplant is a healthy choice because it's a vegetable, but not when it's deep-fried and smothered with cheese.

To save calories, skip the cheese and/or get your food grilled.

• Eggplant parmigiana: 1,396 calories, 78g fat, 141g carbs.
• Chicken parmigiana: 1,340 calories, 78g fat, 88g carbs.
• Fried calamari: 1,040 calories, 70g fat, 62g carbs.

Fat and saucy

Red and white sauces are both loaded with oil, and that includes marinara sauce.

• Linguine with white clam sauce: 910 calories, 29g fat, 104g carbs.
• Linguine with red clam sauce: 890 calories, 23g fat, 130g carbs.
• Spaghetti with marinara sauce: 850 calories, 17g fat, 165g carbs.
• Spaghetti carbonara: 1,067 calories, 34g fat, 143g carbs.
• Pasta with pesto: 1,075 calories, 69g fat, 81g carbs.
• Fettuccine alfredo: 1,078 calories, 41g fat, 137g carbs.
• Shrimp scampi: 932 calories, 67g fat, 4g carbs.

Lasagna is loaded

Who doesn't love a nice homemade lasagna? This favorite contains way too much cheese and ground meat for a single serving. Even the meatless version is no calorie bargain.

• Lasagna with meat and spinach: 1,116 calories, 44g fat, 114g carbs.
• Meatless lasagna with spinach: 978 calories, 30g fat, 127g carbs.

Calories on the side, too

Garlic bread — fuhggedaboutit:

• Garlic bread (4 slices): 545 calories, 21g fat, 75g carbs.
• Antipasto: 630 calories, 47g fat.
• Bread dipped in olive oil (2 slices): 528 calories, 42g fat, 30g carbs.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition and fitness columnist.