State of Origin: Food and drink overload warning

And, as is tradition, whatever you eat for Origin dinner is unlikely to be part of some kind of new-age paleo diet. There's no hiding you'll be tucking into nachos, burgers, pizzas or pies (with a side of chips, of course).

All the good stuff, basically.

Those party poopers at the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ) are urging sports fans to go easy on the State of Origin carbs this year.

"Having three beers, a pie and some hot chips will take you about three hours of running around ANZ Stadium to burn off and, let's face it, that isn't going to happen," AMAQ President Dr Shaun Rudd said.

No, it's not.

According to the association three pots of full-strength beer is equal to 310 calories whereas three schooners is 460. Even if you're not having a cheeky mid-week drink, three cans of cola are a staggering 470 calories.

Maybe stick with the beer.

Then comes the food: Just one meat pie totals about 390 calories; three measly slices of cheese pizza are 820; and a bucket of chips is 740.

Aside from not being able to put on pants Thursday morning, Dr Rudd warns the footy feast could have serious long-term consequences but falls short of blasphemy.

"We don't expect you to snack on kale or nibble a banana while watching the game but the choices you make will add up in the long run," Dr Rudd said.

"It's just a matter of planning ahead and going easy on the pastry and carbs. Swapping a meat pie for a sandwich and a full-strength beer for mid-strength can make all the difference".

Thank God for that.

With 10.8 million Australian adults either overweight or obese, maybe it's time we all took some inspiration from the sportsmen we idolise and watch what we're shovelling into our faces.

But if you absolutely must indulge (we promise we won't say anything) don't forget to be extra enthusiastic while yelling at the referee – you might just burn off some of that energy.