"Children's menu items loaded; Health group says calorie count high" by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | August 5, 2008
WASHINGTON - Healthy children's meals at top restaurant chains are slim pickings, according to a report by a nonprofit public health group.
Nearly every possible combination of the children's meals at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Sonic,
The report also found that 45 percent of children's meals exceed recommendations for saturated and trans fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease, and 86 percent of children's meals are high in sodium.
Translation: After stuffing them full of the junk food, they will then need Big Pharmas meds (cha-ching)!!!
NEW YORK - "It's hard to beat fast food," said Bob Goldin of consumer research firm Technomic Inc. in Chicago. "The demographics and lifestyle trends are working against" the family dining chains.
Complicating the issue is the slow economy and consumers' desire to spend less eating out. Fast-food chains have been a beneficiary of people's reluctance to part with their cash since they offer food at lower prices than most casual dining or family dining restaurants. Goldin said the fast-food chains, particularly McDonald's Corp., use price and promotion "aggressively and effectively."
Translation: the destruction of the economy is making people eat shit.
The demand for to-go options has helped McDonald's Corp. build its breakfast business into what president and chief operating officer Ralph Alvarez last month called the company's "fastest-growing segment." Burger King Corp., meanwhile, rolled out a breakfast value menu last year.
