|
Restaurant
meals fattening kids
March 18, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
If
Junior’s waistline is expanding, restaurant meals may
be partly to blame. In fact, one-third of kids’ calories
now come from meals eaten away from home.
And the composition of those meals is a growing concern.
As I reported last year, research shows that kids who frequently
eat meals at home with their families are more likely to eat
at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables as compared
to kids who eat out more frequently. They eat less saturated
and trans fat and fewer fried foods and soft drinks. They
also have diets higher in calcium, fiber, folic acid, iron,
and vitamins B and E.
Fast food is a major deterrent to good nutrition. But it may
surprise parents to know that kids’meals at family chain
restaurants can often be just as bad.
A study reported last month by the Center for Science in the
Public Interest found that many family chain restaurants offer
few or no healthful entrees on their children’s menus.
An independent laboratory analysis of foods at such restaurants
as Applebee’s, Chili’s, Denny’s and Outback
found that most kids’ meals totaled 600 to 1,000 calories
and provided a whole day’s recommended limit of saturated
plus trans fat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends
that kids ages 4 to 8 who are “low-active” get
no more than 1,500 calories in a day and not more than 17
grams of saturated plus trans fat per day.
“Many parents appreciate the kid-friendly atmosphere
and free crayons at places like Applebee’s, but not
many would expect adult-sized calorie counts in a children’s
meal,” said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne G. Hurley.
“These chains should be encouraging kids to eat some
of the healthy dishes they offer adults, but instead their
kids’ menus primarily feature oversized portions of
burgers, fries, and fried chicken fingers. Now, kids come
to expect that kind of junk food at school and at home,”
said Hurley.
It’s not easy to determine the nutritional composition
of foods at different restaurant chains. Nutrition information
is absent from most menus and is often inconvenient to find
in brochures and company web sites.
Five states and the District of Columbia have legislation
pending that would require large chain restaurants to put
nutrition information on menus. Similar legislation has been
introduced in Congress.
But for now, take some steps of your own to improve your kids’
restaurant meals:
* Ask for substitute sides. Upon request, most restaurants
will let you exchange french fries for another side dish.
Good choices: applesauce, fresh fruit, salad, or a steamed
vegetable. Red Lobster now offers fresh veggies with Ranch
dip and applesauce as appetizers.
* Skip the free drink. Kids’meals often come with a
free soft drink. Take water instead. Or ask to substitute
fruit juice or skim milk. If whole milk is the only choice,
skip it.
* Limit the free breads. Greasy biscuits, cornbread and bread
sticks are high-calorie fillers with little nutritional value
and too much bad fat.
* Include a salad. Encourage kids to eat a tossed salad with
meals, and don’t push them to finish their entrees.
* Choose entrees carefully. Avoid fried meats, chicken nuggets,
hotdogs, burgers and cheese-and-meat-laden pizzas. Best options:
pasta with tomato sauce and entrees made with little or no
meat and cheese (bean burritos, vegetable pizza light on the
cheese, vegetable stir-fry with steamed rice). Grilled chicken
or fish is better than other meats.
With kids’ weights ballooning, seize control where you
can. The best place to start, of course, is with eating more
meals at home. But when you eat out, make strategic choices
to help minimize the damage without giving up the fun.
|
