Research & Practice
Kids’ Meals: Restaurant Assessment in King County
On a typical day, 33% of children ages 2-11 ate at fast-food and 12% at full-service restaurants. For ages 2-6, 12% of their total energy intake was from restaurants; for ages 7-12, 15%. Eating at restaurants is associated with increased sugar-sweetened beverages, decreased milk, and increased total fat, saturated fat, and sugar. Less than 10% of kids’ meals combinations at top national chains meet various nutrition criteria from experts or industry. HEAL is interested in policy, systems, and environmental change in settings that influence children’s health. Kids’ meals policies may be a promising approach in restaurant environments to make it easier for children to eat more healthfully.
This project involved assessing kids’ meals in King County restaurants to get a local snapshot and analyze characteristics that would be relevant for policy options, such as: beverage choice; healthfulness and food groups of meals, sides, entrees, desserts, and defaults; and prices and marketing techniques.
Materials Available
Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster
Author(s): Jessica Jew
Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training
Year: 2015
Adviser(s):