In the state of Texas (and almost everywhere else in America) one out of three children are overweight or obese. There are various reasons as to why generations of children are becoming more and more overweight: lack of PE in schools, environment and poor food choices. Studies show that more and more people are eating outside of the home. Most importantly, 94% of the top 25 fast food places with kid’s menu options are extremely high in calories because they are dominated by burgers, chicken nuggets, French fries and sugary soft drinks.
Lately, McDonald’s Corporation has been receiving lots of pressure from health and children's advocacy groups to make changes to its Happy Meals. The chain has agreed to make changes! Beginning in September, McDonald’s will do a trial run by adding a serving of fruit or vegetable and reducing the portion size of French fries from 2.4 oz to 1.1 oz. By April 2012, all 14,000 locations will make the much needed change.
Here are some of the changes to make the Happy Meal a Healthy Meal
· The new French fry holders in Happy Meals will contain 1.1 ounces of potatoes, down from 2.4.
· Apple slices will be included as side dish, but it could also be carrots, raisins, pineapple slices or mandarin oranges (depends on the season and region)
· The new meals will represent, on average, a 20% decrease in calories!
· The price will stay the same.
Other changes in the past
· In 2004 McDonald’s changed by offering soda alternatives, such as 1% milk.
· It also offered an option of replacing fries with sliced apples served with low-fat caramel sauce
· In 2006, McDonald's began advertising a version of its Happy Meal that included chicken nuggets and the apple slices, marketed as Apple Dippers because of the caramel sauce.
· The result is that 88% of McDonald's customers knew about the fruit option with Happy Meals, according to the company. But only 11% of kid’s meals are ordered with apples instead of fries.
McPromises
· McDonald's is also pledging to reduce by 15% the amount of sodium
· The company recently reduced sodium in its chicken nuggets by 10%, on top of a 13% reduction in sodium after the nuggets were changed from dark meat to white meat.
· The chain said it will work toward additional reductions in sugars, saturated fat and calories by 2020 and has hired an unidentified third-party organization to report on its progress.
Check out the full article here:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-mcdonalds-20110726,0,2861497.story
Lately, McDonald’s Corporation has been receiving lots of pressure from health and children's advocacy groups to make changes to its Happy Meals. The chain has agreed to make changes! Beginning in September, McDonald’s will do a trial run by adding a serving of fruit or vegetable and reducing the portion size of French fries from 2.4 oz to 1.1 oz. By April 2012, all 14,000 locations will make the much needed change.
Here are some of the changes to make the Happy Meal a Healthy Meal
· The new French fry holders in Happy Meals will contain 1.1 ounces of potatoes, down from 2.4.
· Apple slices will be included as side dish, but it could also be carrots, raisins, pineapple slices or mandarin oranges (depends on the season and region)
· The new meals will represent, on average, a 20% decrease in calories!
· The price will stay the same.
Other changes in the past
· In 2004 McDonald’s changed by offering soda alternatives, such as 1% milk.
· It also offered an option of replacing fries with sliced apples served with low-fat caramel sauce
· In 2006, McDonald's began advertising a version of its Happy Meal that included chicken nuggets and the apple slices, marketed as Apple Dippers because of the caramel sauce.
· The result is that 88% of McDonald's customers knew about the fruit option with Happy Meals, according to the company. But only 11% of kid’s meals are ordered with apples instead of fries.
McPromises
· McDonald's is also pledging to reduce by 15% the amount of sodium
· The company recently reduced sodium in its chicken nuggets by 10%, on top of a 13% reduction in sodium after the nuggets were changed from dark meat to white meat.
· The chain said it will work toward additional reductions in sugars, saturated fat and calories by 2020 and has hired an unidentified third-party organization to report on its progress.
Check out the full article here:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-mcdonalds-20110726,0,2861497.story
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