Fast Food Flops for Tots: Too Many Calories in Kid’s Meals, Study Says

Kids’ Meals are too high in calories, fat, and sodium, study says

Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman

You probably knew it wasn’t the healthiest option on the block. But when you go into a fast-food restaurant (can we really call them that?), you’re getting a lot more than you bargained for when you order a kid’s meal for little Johnny and Josephine. Way more.

Only one or 2 restaurants coming to mind as the culprits? You’d be surprised…or perhaps the word is…disgusted. In fact, a recent study by the Center for Science and Public Interest suggests that 90% of children’s “kid’s meals” at 13 major fast-food and restaurant chains are too high—way too high—in calories for our little tykes.

Here’s the scoop:

Who did the study? Center for Science and Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit organization.

What were they looking for? The report aimed to investigate the nutritional quality in 13 major restaurant chains.

What did they find?

• 90% of 13 restaurant chains were too high in calories for our children. The recommended number of calories per meal for children between the ages of 4 and 8 (the majority of kid’s meal eaters) is 430.
• Half of the children’s meals exceeded the National Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for saturated and trans fat. These fats can raise cholesterol levels in the children (an issue that’s been given a lot of attention lately) and increase heart disease.
• 86% of kid’s meals are too high in sodium. Again, this is startling because, according to CSPI and recent studies, a quarter of children between the ages of 5 and 10 show early signs of heart disease, such as high LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) or elevated blood pressure.
• Eating out now accounts for 1/3 of children’s DAILY caloric intake—twice the amount consumed away from home only 30 years ago.

In a nut shell… Many kids’ meal combos are too high in calories, fat, and sodium: CSPI found that nearly every possible combination of children’s meals at popular stops such as Chick-fil-A, Sonic, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, and KFC are too high in calories. Most of the kids’meals (93 percent) at McDonald’s and Wendy’s are too high in calories, as are the possibilities at Burger King (92 percent), Dairy Queen (89 percent), Arby’s (69 percent), and Denny’s (60 percent—though its kids’ meals don’t include drinks).

Give me some examples, Dr. Robyn:

• Chili’s Bar and Grill: This popular chain has 700 possible combinations of kids’ meals. Out of those 700, 658 (94%) are too high in calories for the children they aim to serve. One such meal combo, consisting of “country fried chicken crispers,” cinnamon apples and chocolate milk might look harmless but packs a whopping 1020 calories (nearly 2 ½ times the number of calories a child should eat at any one meal)! Another Chili’s combo, made up of cheese pizza, homestyle fries, and lemonade contained 1,000 calories (over 2 times the recommended amount).
• Burger King: The “Big Kid’s Meal” (How big? An adult?), comprised of a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk came out to 910 calories. (Since CSPI’s study was completed, Burger King has introduced a calorie-friendly kid’s meal with macaroni and cheese, apple “fries,” and 1 percent milk at 420 calories).
• Sonic: This chain’s “Wacky Pack” make up of a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, and a slushie (definitely NOT nutritious) packed almost double the recommended number of calories at 830.

Christi Woodworth, a spokeswoman for Sonic, said the chain is looking into adding a variety of healthy side items, and plans to introduce string cheese at 90 calories each in September.

Did anyone come out fairing well? Subway came out on top for it’s kid’s meal combinations. Only 1/3 of their 18 “Fresh Fit for Kids” Meals exceeded the 430 calorie recommendation. These meals consist of a mini-sub, juice box, and one side item like apple slices, raisins, or yogurt, much healthier options than “would you like fries with that?”

The Blame Game:

• The restaurants say…“exercising parental responsibility is key to childhood nutrition.” [The report] “fails to acknowledge the essential role of nutrition education, physical activity and parental responsibility in childhood nutrition — good eating habits and healthy living must be established in the home.” — The National Restaurant Association, a business group of about 945,000 restaurants and food outlets. They voiced that the said trend in the industry is to provide “more detailed nutritional information and choice in menu options for consumers.”

• Center for Science and Public Interest says: “Parents want to feed their children healthy meals, but America’s chain restaurants are setting parents up to fail. 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. — CSPI nutrition policy director, Margo G. Wootan, said in a statement.

• KFC says… [we’re] “proud to offer a variety of kids meals for those looking for lower calorie, lower fat options.” The statement noted that the report’s calculations include baked Cheetos and a biscuit, sides that are no longer offered.

• Jack in the Box says…that parents do indeed have several healthy options that can select for their children including applesauce and reduced fat milk.

Interesting Fun (Frustrating?) Fact: You may have noticed that six leading restaurant chains — Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, TGIFriday’s, Outback Steakhouse, and IHOP (International House of Pancakes) — weren’t included in the report. Why not? They don’t disclose nutritional information about their meals, kid’s or otherwise, even when asked, according to CSPI.

CSPI recommends that restaurants…

(1) Revise their menus: How about including options that are lower in calories, trans fat, and salt? CSPI asks that they add more healthy items like fruit, veggies, and whole grains.

(2) Shake up the default: Instead of fries being the “default” items for side dishes, make fruit, veggies take their place. Instead of making “soda” the default drink, replacing it with water and low-fat milk.

(3) Nutrition info front and center: Provide nutrition information on menus and menu boards like New York and San Francisco have already done.

There’s no doubt. It’s certainly frustrating for people to call this stuff “kid’s meals” when they are fit for children. So many fast food and convenient items are just as they say they are—fast and convenient but not often healthy. For the health of our children, if they’re not going to make the change, we have to do it for them.

What are your thoughts on the issue? We’d love to hear from you.

Family Bucket List: 7 Ways to Pour Generosity and Value into Family Life

What are You Putting in Your Bucket? Building Family On Values Not On Time-Fillers

Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman

Every once in a while something causes us to stop and re-evaluate what’s really important in our lives. Worldwide tragedies like September 11^th , Katrina, the Tsunami, and the recent Earthquake in China; personal losses like the death of a loved one, a divorce, or new knowledge of illnesses in the family—can get us wondering about whether we’re spending our lives doing the “important things” or the things that just take up space. Even the loss of people we don’t know (but feel like we do) like all-too-early deaths of actor John Ritter or Heath Ledger and the very recent death of Randy Pausch get us to jump to attention and ask ourselves, “Is this what I should be doing? Could I spend my time doing something more significant? Am I teaching the children in my life to pay attention to the “right things?”

Movies, like the Bucket List and books like Tuesdays with Morrie can jump start our minds and push us back onto the path we are meant to follow. Our intentional path filled with taking the time, taking a break, taking a vacation, and taking a breath regains front burner position in our brains. Our hearts are filled with gratitude, determination, and generosity.

And then what happens? Life. Carpooling. Arguments. Dinner. School. Work. Stress….Reality.

How can we keep our Bucket List and a bucket list for our children (Do they even have one? Should we find out?) from being pushed into the back of the closet? How can we get ourselves and our children focused on giving over receiving, people over electronics, and facetime over Facebook? As it’s generosity month for all Powerful Words Member Schools and Families, why not take some time to dig into this idea—chew on it—and yes, act on it—even if it’s just for a little while. You may just make it a habit. Your family…might just love you for it.

So, what should we do?

1. Prioritize what’s really important: Do this for yourself when you have a little down time or quiet time—before bed—before others rise—in the bathroom, whenever you can do it. Ask your family to do the same. What do they really love to do? What do they really want to do? Make a master list.
2. Schedule a bucket day: At least every month, ensure that someone gets to tick something off their list. Make sure everyone gets a turn…even you! Get away from the TV, the computer, the ipod, the blackberry, the Gameboy and whatever else that can take away from the point of the day. When your children see and experience that the family makes time to do these meaningful goals, they will learn to prioritize and focus on the important things in life.
3. Get in the habit of giving back: The most fulfilling feelings tend to grace us when we give rather than receive. Schedule in a “charity” day 2-4 times per year when the family either cleans out their closets to donate their unused items or the family gets involved with a charity event such as one at your Powerful Words Member School or one hosted around town like a Special Olympics or Walk for a Cause. You can even go to a soup kitchen, senior center, or hospital and offer your assistance there. When generosity is part of your lives, there will be less room for “gimme gimme.”
4. Talk about family goals in the beginning of the day: Even if it’s in the car, during breakfast, or when tying shoes, help your family focus on what they want the day to bring. Nobody wants “just another day.” What can make this day special? What do you hope to accomplish today? What’s something you can do today that would really make a difference to you or someone else? Be sure to talk about your goals as well! When you start your family’s morning off thinking about the important things, they’ll be more likely to bring it into focus during the course of the day.
5. Discuss what’s meaningful at the end of each day: What was the best part of everyone’s day? What were you touched by? What did you do to make someone else’s life at least a little bit better? What did someone else do to make your life at least a little bit better? For what are you grateful? What did you learn today? Let your family know the valuable moments of your days as well. When we end the day by examining the value in everyday, we are more likely to see value in every day.
6. Show love, kindness, and gratitude: Whether it’s to your family, friends, or strangers, little things can make a big difference. A brief smile, writing a note of thanks, giving a gift for no reason at all, or pulling over a manager to tell her that an employee has done a magnificent job with helping you (something I love to do!), are all ways to bring generosity and caring into your daily life. You will be surprised by how good you feel by making others feel great, even for a moment.
7. Renew your values: Each year, make it a point to re-envision, re-evaluate, and renew your values with yourself, your partner, and your family. Talk about what’s important. Talk about how you want to focus your time and your energy. Discuss the successes from the previous year and how you’d like to make this year different. I do this my family as well as with my own coaching clients on our “PowerDay Retreats” and they are always extremely poignant, moving, and vital to the wellbeing of the person, relationship, and family.

When reading this list, you may say, “who has the time?” But then I ask you, with what are you filling your time? We must step back and give a good hard look to our days, weeks, months, and years. They’re limited. What can you do today to make them meaningful? Go out—or stay in– and do it.

Make it a Powerful Month—really!

Dr. Robyn Silverman Announces August’s Powerful Word of the Month

Hello Parents!

The Powerful Word of the Month this month is generosity! Your Powerful Words Member School will give you your Parents Perch letter, your Dear Dr. Robyn column, and the project(s) that your children will enjoy completing within the next few days.  All Powerchat discussions will revolve around generosity is sharing treasures, talents, time, and thanks with those they love as well as those who are in need.  What a wonderful month to get into the habit of giving!

Generosity Quotes:

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. –Maya Angelou

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. –Elizabeth Bibesco

Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging. –Deepak Chopra:

Giving is the secret of a healthy life. Not necessarily money, but whatever a person has of encouragement, sympathy and understanding. —John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. –Anne Frank

We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act but a habit. –Aristotle

The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give. –Walt Whitman

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.  –Winston Churchill

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by what you bring to life. –John Homer Miller

“Generosity is immune to the laws of mathematics. When we give of ourselves, we do not wind up with less– but rather more than we had before we began.” —Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman

Let’s get ready for a Powerful Month!