Summer is upon us and the 4th of July holiday weekend is almost here. This marks a great time to enjoy yourself and what better way than to take in the local fair or carnival. Attending the fair means enjoying the food as well as the entertainment.

Newsweek has done a piece on the “most unhealthy carnival foods” by featuring seven of the most fattening foods you can get at the fair. Here is the list:

1. Deep-Fried Oreos (pictured)
2. Cotton Candy
3. Corn Dogs
4. Deep-Fried Twinkies
5. Snow Cones
6. Funnel Cake
7. Deep-Fried Candy Bars

I see the giant turkey leg didn’t make the list - that’s good news for me. It’s no surprise that 3 of these items are deep-fried versions of their unhealthy counterparts. Deep-fried anything has become a food phenomenon in recent years. This all supposedly started with the deep-fried Mars bar back in the mid-90s and has subsequently been followed up by every confection under the sun.

I found an article at WebMd which indicates the calorie information for some of the common fair foods. (You may want to skip ahead if you are heading out a state fair any time soon.)

• Fried Snickers (5 oz.): 444 calories and 29 grams (g) fat
• Fried Twinkie (2 oz.): 420 calories/34 g fat
• Funnel cake (1): 760 calories/44 g fat
• Twinkie Dog Sundae: 500 calories/14 g fat
• Cotton candy: 171 calories/0 fat
• Fried cheesecake (6 oz.): 655 calories/47 g fat
• Foot-long hot dog and bun: 470 calories/26 g fat
• Giant turkey leg: 1,136 calories/54 g fat

I say if you are at the fair you should enjoy yourself and try one and maybe even 2 of these items - just don’t overdo it. Enjoying a decadence like a deep-fried Snickers is one of the best parts of life. Just do it in moderation.