Fast food: scientists call for limiting calories on “children’s menus”

In the United States, overweight and obesity are major public health issues. In 2014, according to the Gallup Institute, the rate of adults affected by this problem was around 28%, a record figure across the Atlantic. So to stem this epidemic with major health consequences, the health authorities have decided to tackle the problem head on.
A striking example is the work of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg who, through his crusade against junk food within the Big Apple, had obtained a ban on giant sodas in his city. While there is still a long way to go, the awareness seems very real.

Limit children’s menus to 500 calories

Evidenced by this study carried out by a team of researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which behind the scenes, urges the City Council of New York City to cap the number of calories in children’s menus at fast food restaurants. The latter offer a toy in addition to food and therefore strongly attract the youngest, despite all the dangers inherent in consuming such unbalanced meals. To be precise, the study calls for a ceiling of 500 Kcal per menu, less than 35% fat and no more than 600 mg of sodium.

At present, American fast food restaurants are far from respecting this limit which according to scientists should not be exceeded. To realize the extent of the phenomenon, they studied the eating behaviors of 358 adults who bought for 422 children, aged on average 7 years, the menus concerned in McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s restaurants. On average, 600 Kcal are consumed by the youngest during their meals at fast food, a figure that greatly exceeds the threshold recommended by the study.

A drop of water in the sea of ​​frying

According to Marie Bragg, one of the main authors of this work, if restaurants respected these limitations, the youngest would consume 9% fewer calories and would reduce their salt intake by about 10 g. “Of course, this remains tiny compared to the obesity problems that our country is facing,” she explains, “however, enforcing this standard would be a good start in trying to make a difference”. Adding fruit to the menu, as it exists in France, is also a proposal put forward by the study.

“We are at a point where action is mandatory, and that requires the implementation of measures of this kind,” she concludes. As a cause for hope, scientists in New York can be satisfied with the adoption in California of such restrictions in fast food restaurants.