“I feel like I could eat a horse”.

This phrase is heard around the country on Thanksgiving day. People count down the days until they can give thanks and eat copious amounts of food. While everyone knows that Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate and eat as much as you want, how much food is too much?

According to the University of Illinois Extension, “the average American [household] ate 16 pounds of turkey [as of 2012, and,] in 2011, 736 million pounds of turkey was consumed.”

One pound of cooked or roasted turkey amounts to about 771 calories. Therefore, the average American household consumed around 12,336 calories of turkey alone in 2012.

“I find that surprising because my family doesn’t eat that much on Thanksgiving. For me, it’s just another dinner,” said junior Haley Rose Paulin, “I think that [the amount of food consumed on Thanksgiving] should be discussed more because that’s a lot.”

Junior Lia Sokol said, “Although 16 pounds may seem like a lot of food, Thanksgiving is about coming together. If that means getting obese, that’s okay.”

On Thanksgiving, families gather to show appreciation for the important things in their lives over a huge meal. However, the question remains: how much food is too much food?

For more fun Turkey-Day facts visit: http://extension.illinois.edu/turkey/turkey_facts.cfm