A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that a bill to improve the nutritional value of fast-food restaurant meals marketed to children—like McDonald’s Happy Meals—could have a wide enough impact to reduce calories, fat, and sodium.
The “Healthy Happy Meals” Bill, proposed by New York City Council member Benjamin J. Kallos, would require that fast-food meals marketed to kids using toys or other promotional items include a serving of fruit, vegetables, or whole grain. They must also be limited to 500 calories or less, with fewer than 35% of calories coming from fat, fewer than 10% coming from saturated fat, fewer than 10% from added sugars, and fewer than 600 mg of sodium. The bill is currently being considered by the City Council, and is similar to legislation recently enacted in California.
To identify whether the bill might make a public health impact on nutrition improvement and number of children reached, the researchers analyzed receipts collected in 2013 and 2014 from 358 adults, which included purchases for 422 children at multiple New York City and New Jersey locations of Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s.
Adults purchased on average 600 calories for each child, with 36% of those calories coming from fat, according to the findings. Over one-third of children ordered kids’ meals, and 98% of kids’ meals did not meet the nutritional criteria outlined in the proposed legislation.
If kids’ meals meet the bill’s criteria and children’s orders do not shift, there would be a 9% drop in calories—representing 54 fewer calories—a 10% drop in sodium, and a 10% drop in percentage of calories from fat.
“While 54 calories at a given meal is a small reduction, small changes that affect a wide number of people can make a large impact,” said Brian Elbel, lead author and associate professor in the Departments of Population Health at NYU Langone and at NYU Wagner. “Passing the bill could be a step in the right direction, though no single policy can singlehandedly eliminate childhood obesity.”
Abstract
