Can kiddie fast foods be actually nutritious as some claim themselves to be?
The answer is not encouraging. A study by researchers at the Michigan State University assessed the nutritional quality of children’s meals in Houston, US 4th largest city – with disappointing results. Only 3% of children’s meals offered by fast food restaurants can be considered nutritious based on federal dietary guidelines making the term “nutritional fast food” a contradiction in terms. The exceptions, rather than the rule to this are mostly deli-sandwiches served with fruit as side dish. These meals also had “one-third the fat, one-sixth the added sugars, twice the iron and three times the amount of vitamin A and calcium” than the other 97%.
The nutritional assessment was conducted by comparing the nutritional values provided by fast food companies to the seven nutrient criteria used in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), including dietary guidelines for sodium, fiber, additional sugar and trans fat content.
Other interesting results from the study are as follows:
- 65% of meals which did not make the grade exceeded fat requirements.
- 75% lacked calcium and 82% were deficient in iron.
- 85% were also lacking in vitamin A.
This information is very important for parents of young children, because according to the researchers, one out of four (25%) children eat fast food meals on a typical day. Do your children fall under this 25%?