Study: Restaurant Kids' Meals Loaded With Calories

Aug. 4, 2008— -- WASHINGTON (AP) - Parents looking for healthy meal choices fortheir children are likely to find slim pickings on the menus of thenation's top restaurant chains, according to a report releasedMonday by a nonprofit public health group.

Nearly every possible combination of the children's meals atKentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, andChick-fil-A are too high in calories, the report by the Center forScience in the Public Interest said.

The report looked into the nutritional quality of kids' meals at13 major restaurant chains. The center found 93 percent of 1,474possible choices at the 13 chains exceed 430 calories -- an amountthat is one-third of what the National Institute of Medicinerecommends that children ages 4 through 8 should consume in a day.

For example, Chili's Bar and Grill has 700 possible kids' mealcombinations, but 658, or 94 percent, of those are too high incalories. One Chili's meal comprised of country-fried chickencrispers, cinnamon apples and chocolate milk contained 1,020calories, while another comprised of cheese pizza, homestyle fries,and lemonade contained 1,000 calories. Burger King has a "BigKids" meal with a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milkat 910 calories, and Sonic has a "Wacky Pack" with 830 caloriesworth of grilled cheese, fries, and a slushie.

While there are some healthy choices on restaurant menus,"parents have to navigate a minefield of calories, fat and salt tofind them," the report said.

Subway's kids' meals came out the best among the chains examinedin the report. Only 6 of 18 "Fresh Fit for Kids" meals - whichinclude a mini-sub, juice box, and one of several healthful sideitems such as apple slices, raisins or yogurt - exceed the430-calorie threshold. But Subway is the only chain that doesn'toffer soft drinks with kids' meals, which helped lower the caloriecount.

The report notes that eating out now accounts for a third ofchildren's daily caloric intake, twice the amount consumed awayfrom home 30 years ago.