{"id":141999,"date":"2018-09-27T10:41:11","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=141999"},"modified":"2018-10-05T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T14:03:50","slug":"kids-eating-fast-food-not-healthy-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/09\/kids-eating-fast-food-not-healthy-options\/","title":{"rendered":"More Kids are Eating Fast Food \u2013 and Not the Healthy Options"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seventy-four percent of parents still purchase unhealthy drinks and side items for their kids when they visit fast-food chains, despite restaurants\u2019 commitments to offer healthier options with kids\u2019 meals, a new University of Connecticut study finds.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at UConn surveyed\u00a0the nation’s four largest fast-food chains \u2013 McDonald\u2019s, Burger King, Wendy\u2019s, and Subway \u2013 for the study.<\/p>\n

They found many fast-food restaurants still automatically provide soda and French fries with kids\u2019 meal orders and continue to widely promote their unhealthy options inside the restaurants on menu boards and signs. The healthier kids\u2019 meal sides and drinks available include fruit and yogurt and 100 percent juice, low-fat milk, and water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile most fast-food restaurants do have healthier kids\u2019 meal drinks and sides available, many do little to make parents aware of the healthier options or to encourage parents to choose the healthier options instead of unhealthy ones,\u201d said Jennifer Harris, lead author of the report and associate professor of allied health sciences. “If restaurants are serious about children\u2019s health, they will make the healthiest choice the easiest choice for parents and the most appealing choice for children.”<\/p>\n

The study surveyed approximately 800 parents in 2010, 2013, and 2016, asking about what they ordered for children between ages 2 and 11 in the past week. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed were moms aged 25 to 40, and most had two or more children in that age range.<\/p>\n

Kids Are Eating Fast Food More Frequently<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers found children are eating fast food more often. In 2016, 91 percent of parents reported purchasing lunch or dinner for their child in the past week at one of the four largest chains, up from 79 percent in 2010. Families visited McDonald\u2019s the most.<\/p>\n

Study authors say low cost and increased value of fast-food meals, convenience and easy access, and a documented increase in fast-food advertising to children could account for the increase in consumption of fast food meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that fast food offers parents a convenient, affordable option for feeding their families. But restaurants have a responsibility to make these affordable, convenient foods healthier. Most fast-food meals \u2013 even kids\u2019 meals \u2013 have more fat, sugar, and sodium than children need, and eating this kind of unhealthy food can have negative health consequences over time, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n

Other findings include:<\/strong><\/p>\n