Fast-food kids meals crammed with fat and calories (what else is new?)
File this under “tell me something I didn’t know already.” According to a new study, most of the kids’ meals at fast food restaurant chains have entirely too many calories to be considered healthy. Wow. Shocking. Did they really need a study to figure this out? After all, the adult meals from these places are crammed with empty calories and needless fat – why should the kids’ meals be any different?
This report on the obvious was from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). They found that, at 13 of the top chains including Chick-fil-A, Sonic, Taco Bell, and KFC, 93 percent of the 1,474 possible choice combinations have more than 430 calories. That’s one third of what the average child between ages 4 and 8 should be consuming in an entire day.
Let’s take a look at some of the offending meals: the Burger King Big Kids Meal has a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk – that’s 910 calories. The Sonic Wacky Pack has a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, and a slushie – that’s 830 calories.
Maybe they should call it the “Fat and Happy Meal!”
CSPI’s nutrition policy director Margo Wootan said, “At the very least, restaurants should list calories on the menu so that parents can navigate through this minefield of calories and fat to find the healthy options.”
But when some of the meals at these restaurants contain a whopping 1,000 calories, it’s no wonder that they don’t want to list the calorie count. Thankfully, many of the people reacting to this report take the common-sense approach to this news – even a registered dietician said that “if the Happy Meal is really just a once-in-awhile thing, it’s probably OK.”
What’s missing from this equation is responsible parenting.
As much as I’ve decried the unhealthiness the fast food giants (dare I call them “Big Fast Food” – or would “Big Fat Food” be more appropriate?), there’s one word that I feel is always ignored by the many people who seek to drop the hammer on these places: moderation. Just because the food is convenient and readily available, it doesn’t mean you should eat it at every single meal.
Recently I told you about a move being made in Los Angeles to ban further construction of new fast food restaurants in certain neighborhoods. This silly ban was passed, of course, thanks to a pandering local politician putting a meaningless bandage on a situation.
I’m willing to bet that business will continue to thrive at the existing fast food joints in south-central L.A., and that 10 years from now, not a single kid will be thinner or healthier as a result of this ban. Why? Because until kids are taught BY THEIR PARENTS what healthy food choices are, they’re not likely to make the selection.
It’s time to stop living the lie that fast food restaurants should have the feet inside those giant clown shoes held to the fire for making our kids fat – it’s parents that make their kids fat, not restaurants. Last time I checked, I never saw an eight-year-old behind the wheel at the drive thru.
Bottom line: It’s time we all started looking at ourselves and taking personal responsibility for what our children are eating.
