What’s in a Kids Meal Not Happy News

What's in a Kids Meal? Not Happy News. UC San Diego researchers tally the nutritional value of what kids actually eat at a fast food restaurant August 2, 2011 Debra Kain High-calorie, high-sodium choices were on the menu when parents purchased lunch for their children at a San Diego fast-food restaurant. Why? Because both children and adults liked the food and the convenience. However, the study of data compiled by researchers in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, appearing this week in the new journal, Childhood Obesity, showed that convenience resulted in lunchtime meals that accounted for between 36 and 51 percent of a child's daily caloric needs. In addition, 35 to 39 percent of calories came from fat and the meals provided more than 50 percent of the recommended total daily sodium intake for most children? and as high as 100 percent of sodium levels recommended for pre-schoolers.  "We found that families perceived fast-food restaurants as easy and cheap, and many were using fast food as a reward for their children," said Kerri N. Boutelle, PhD, Behavioral Director of the Weight and Wellness Clinic at the University of California, San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, who has studied childhood obesity, its causes and treatment for over 15 years.  "Considering the high prevalence of fast-food consumptions by adults as well as kids, it's important to recognize the impact of fast food and its impact on the current obesity epidemic in the U.S."  The UC San Diego researchers surveyed 544 families with children entering a fast-food chain restaurant located inside Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, California at lunch time over a six-week period.