Most Top Chain Kids' Menus Are Unhealthy Says US Watchdog

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Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 06 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Most of the options on the kids' menu in 13 top chain restaurants are too high in calories, and there are still too many meals high in saturated fat and sodium, said a US watchdog in a report released this week. 93 per cent of nearly 1,500 possible menu choices had more than one third of the daily recommended amount of calories the Institute of Medicine recommends for 8 year olds.

The findings of an investigation by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest into the nutritional quality of children's restaurant meals at 13 top restaurant chains is published in their report, "Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu", which is available from their website.

The investigators found that nearly every single possible combination of dishes on the children's menus at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chick-fil-A was too high in calories. 93 per cent of 1,474 children's meal options at the 13 restaurant chains had over 430 calories, which is one third of the daily amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine for children between 4 and 8 years old.

CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G Wootan said "America's chain restaurants are setting parents up to fail".

Parents want to give their children healthy meals, but said Wootan:

"McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and other chains are conditioning kids to expect burgers, fried chicken, pizza, French fries, macaroni and cheese, and soda in various combination at almost every lunch and dinner."

93 per cent of the kids' meals at McDonald's and Wendy's have more than the recommended 430 calories, said the CSPI, as do 92 per cent at Burger King, 89 per cent at Dairy Queen, 69 per cent at Arby's and 60 per cent at Denny's (although their kids' meals don't include drinks).

Here are some of the high calorie kids' meals found by the CSPI investigators:

• 1,020 calories in a Chili's children's meal comprising country-fried chicken crispers, cinnamon apples, and chocolate milk, while another combination at the same chain had 1,000 calories in a meal containing cheese pizza, homestyle fries, and lemonade.


• 940 calories in a KFC "Laptop Meal" for kids comprising popcorn chicken, baked beans, biscuit, Teddy Grahams, and fruit punch.


• 910 calories in a Burger King "Big Kids" meal, comprising double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk.


• 830 calories in a Sonic "Wacky Pack", comprising grilled cheese, fries, and a slushie.

The CSPI said that since their report was compiled, KFC has added a 420 calorie combination to their menu, comprising macaroni and cheese, apple "fries" and 1 percent milk.

The chain with the fewest meals that exceeded the 430 calorie ceiling was Subway. Only one third of their Fresh Fit for Kids meals exceeded the limit. These include: mini-sub, juice box, plus apple slices, raisins or yogurt. It's also the only chain that doesn't offer soft drinks with children's meals, said the CSPI report.

Apart from having too many calories, the investigators found that 45 per cent of kids' meals at the chains they studied also had too much saturated and trans fats and 86 per cent had too much sodium. The CSPI said that was "alarming", given that 25 per cent of 5 to 10 year olds in the US have high blood pressure or high levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol, both early signs of of heart disease.

Wootan said that:

"Most of these kids' meals appear to be designed to put America's children on the fast-track to obesity, disability, heart attack, or diabetes."

The CSPI called for more authorities to follow the lead of New York City, San Francisco, and other regions like Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon, where calories and other health information are starting to appear on menus. This will help parents make healthier choices for their children, even though most chain restaurants don't offer many, it's a start.

For example, if Denny's showed the calorie value of their menu items, parents would see the difference between a Big Dipper French Toastix (770 calories) and Smiley-Alien Hotcakes (without meat, 370 calories). And if Arby's did the same, they would see that a fruit cup and juice box instead of fries and soda with a popcorn chicken meal would cut the calories from 720 to 420.

CSPI said they only looked at 13 chains out of the 25 top chains because they were the only ones that had dedicated children's menus and revealed the nutrition information on their website or elsewhere. It was not possible to evaluate chains like Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and IHOP because they do not show nutrition information for most information items "even upon request", said the CSPI.

Click here to download the full CSPI report "Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu" (PDF).

Sources: CSPI.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
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