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What if fast food meals for kids were considered more nutritious?
Researchers from New York University (NYU) studied kids’ meals by looking at over 358 fast food receipts which detailed over 400 purchases of kids’ meals. After calculating what those meals would look like with a set of healthy nutritional standards, researchers summed up that there would have been a nine percent drop in calories for kids if the fast food meals purchased were up to their standards.
This may not seem like much, but Dr. Brian Elbel, the lead author of the study and associate professor in the department of population health at NYU, said in a recent article, that these changes on fast food kids’ meals would be a step in the right direction to help fight against childhood obesity.
The new bill purposed would require fast food meals in New York City (NYC), with any toy included to be reduced in sugars, sodium and fats. This kids’ meal must be 500 calories or less with fewer than 35 percent of those calories from fat, fewer than 600 milligrams of sodium, fewer added sugars and less than ten percent of calories from saturated fat.
Most children from within the study’s reports were either black or Latino, where obesity risks are higher. Latinos are also more likely to be a target market for sugary snacks, beverages and unhealthy foods according to recent studies.
New bills like the NYC’s Healthy Happy Meals bill may help change Latino families diets and possibly help reduce higher risks of obesity.
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By The Numbers
22
percent
of Latino youth have depressive symptoms, more than any other group besides Native American youth
