Food and drink calories comparable

While college students rush to the bars for a Friday night out, many are unaware they are consuming the caloric value of an entire meal. \n"Students have no clue the amount of calories they're consuming when they drink," said Bloomington Hospital dietitian Stacy Matavuli. \nJunior Katie Wall, 21, is one of them. Wall admits she has "no idea" how many calories are in what she drinks.\nMatavuli urges students to be aware of how many extra calories they're taking into their bodies before going to the bars.\n"Do some extra exercise the day you're going out so you don't have all the calories lingering around," she said.\nThe problem with consuming too much alcohol is that it is easily converted into fat, Matavuli said.\n"Regular proteins and carbohydrates have four grams of fat, whereas alcohol has a much higher caloric density at eight grams of fat," Matavuli said. "Most drinks with high caloric counts are going to be drinks like cocktails, daiquiris and pina coladas. You have to be aware of the sugary drinks that are packed with calories.\n"Also, Long Islands have a tremendous amount of calories in them simply because they contain so many shots of liquor," she said.\nSome would be amazed to know that a single game of Sink the Biz at Nick's English Hut, 423 E. Kirkwood Ave., entails drinking the equivalent of nearly a full day's worth of food. \nNick's manager Richie Bowling said Sink the Biz game, a Nick's staple and favorite among college students, uses one bucket of beer and typically four players.\nEach person, he said, has 42 ounces of beer for a total of 168 ounces of beer for one game. That equates to 1,820 calories of beer featured in a single game.\nIU students Wall, David M. Coe and Abby Tirpak all said they average at least four drinks per visit to a bar.\n"I've never noticed calorie listings for drinks when I go out," Coe said.\nBut this is because when people come to a bar, they are not looking for calorie listings, said bar managers Bowling and Jen Ashton.\nAshton, a manager at Kilroy's Bar and Grill, 502 E. Kirkwood Ave., said Long Islands are one of the most popular drinks ordered at Kilroy's. \n"On an average night out, my core drinks are about four beers and two Long Islands," Tirpak said.\nThe bar managers and Matavuli suggest looking at the calories on the can of what you drink, or ordering something light. \n"A diet soda with a shot of liquor is in general the fewest calories you're going to have in a drink," Matavuli said. "Drinking alcohol for many young adults is a lifestyle change. With any change, you have to be aware of what you're changing, and calories from alcohol do play a role"