We all know that parents who give their kids fast food are going to hell in a hand-basket, right? Sometimes you just don’t feel like making them lunch - again. Maybe, you’re craving one of those $6 burgers, yourself. There are many reasons we use to convince ourselves that it’s okay to splurge every once and awhile and get your kids one of those little kid’s meals.

Fast food restaurants do a good job straddling the line when it comes to proper disclosure of nutritional information for their menu items, some don’t disclose the amount of trans-fats in their menu items, others don’t break-out the nutritional value of their beverages or condiments. Yes, condiments - check out the nutritional value of the condiments at Carl’s Jr. - mind-boggling numbers [House Dressing 320 calories, 34g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 25g cholesterol, 480g sodium, 2g sugar].

Here’s a snapshot of what your kid is consuming when he or she gets a kid’s meal compared to the recommended daily allowance as dictated by the USDA. I will base this on a four year old boy (will call him “Timmy”), weighing thirty nine pounds and is forty two inches high and is expected to have an average of sixty minutes of exercise activity a day (follow the link below for a daily nutrition calculator based on age). Based on this profile, this kid should eat 1,400 calories a day - basically a bit more than half of what I eat (average adult male; between 2400-2700 calories/day). That means Timmy should have the following per day;

• 1,150mg sodium (about half a teaspoon)
• 150mg cholesterol (Keep total fat intake between 30 to 35 percent of calories for children 2 to 3 years of age and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents 4 to 18 years of age, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.)
• Kids this age should be eating 1.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. This will account for proper amounts of natural fiber, carbohydrates and sugar (as well as important vitamins and minerals)

I could go on here with a daily nutritional breakdown but, this sets the stage for the whole kid’s meal breakdown. Here are the nutritional numbers for some of the more popular kid’s meals out there (numbers based on information attained from company websites);

• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Chicken McNuggets (4pc). Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 520 calories, 25g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 35g cholesterol, 720g sodium, 12g sugar
• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Cheeseburger, Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat White Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 710 calories, 28g fat, 10g saturated fat, 4g trans-fat, 50g cholesterol, 1050g sodium, 26g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [3-piece Chicken Breast Strip, Kid's French Fries, (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 780 calories, 37g fat, 6g saturated fat, 50g cholesterol, (no listing of trans-fat), 1360g sodium, 31g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [Kid's Hamburger, Kid's French Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 820 calories, 29g. fat, 8.5 saurated fat, 60g. cholesterol, (no listing for trans-fat), 1210g. sodium, 43g sugar
• Burger King [Chicken Tenders (4pc), Small Fry, Small Coke) - 530 calories, 24g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 820g. sodium, 31g sugar
• El Pollo Loco [Popcorn Chicken, Small Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 551 calories, 23g fat, 4g saturated fat, 0g trans-fat, 1039g. sodium, 30g sugar

Lots of fat, lots of sodium and lots of sugar. I think in this post Fast-Food Nation age of enlightenment, this information comes as no surprise. But as a parent when you let these numbers soak in a bit, it’s kind of staggering. Much like their grown up counter-parts, these kid’s meals give our precious ones a full day’s supply of fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium all in one sitting. And if your a family on the go or the kind of family that does drive-through on a regular basis, you can start to see the impact these meals are making on your kids.

Play around with some of the nutritional calculators and see what it will take to reverse the calorie count on some of these kids meals. I found that with the calculator listed (below), Timmy would have to exercise a full two hours a day to reverse a mere 400 calories, but it doesn’t reverse the long-term impact of taking in all those trans-fats, sodium and so forth.

Something to think about the next time you’re waiting in line at the drive-thru.

Sited Links;
McDonalds | Nutritional Info for Happy Meals
Carl’s Jr. | Nutrition
Burger King | Nutritional Brochure
El Pollo Loco | Nutritional Guide

Related Links;
USDA | Dietary Guidelines For Americans
Baylor College of Medicine | Healthy Eating Calculator