Fat Tuesday treats pack high fat

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HAMTRAMCK, Mich., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Michiganders indulging in the Fat Tuesday tradition of eating paczki would require a 4-mile walk to burn off the calories, experts said.

Paczki are deep-friend circular pastries with a sweet filling.

Paczki-selling businesses in the heavily-Polish city of Hamtramck said they are expecting business to boom Tuesday due to the Catholic tradition of indulging in fatty foods just prior to the start of Lent, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

Hamtramck Police Chief Max Garbarino, whose sister and brother-in-law work at the paczki-slinging New Palace Bakery, said he and U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., will be among those enjoying the pastries Tuesday.

"It's like a holiday in Hamtramck," Garbarino said.

Bethany Thayer, a Henry Ford Health Systems registered dietician and director of the hospital system's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Detroit, said one paczek has about 400 calories and 25 grams of fat, requiring about four miles of walking or running to burn off.

"One time a year is probably going to be just fine," she said. "But if you're going to regularly consume that many calories and that much fat, it won't take a lot of time for your weight to go up and your cholesterol to increase."