Are America’s children getting fatter because Burger King doesn’t give them any other choice? Well, a new initiative by the National Restaurant Association hopes to change that, and nineteen large restaurant chains — including BK, Chevys, Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, IHOP, and Sizzler — have signed on both to add healthier items to their kids’ menus and to promote those items so that kids might actually order them instead of burgers and fries. The only requirement of the initiative is that the kids’ menu has at least one dish under 600 calories, but the chains seem to be going above and beyond in some cases, with IHOP replacing fries with fruit on all their breakfast dishes, and Denny’s actually removing photos of fries from their menus altogether.
This news follows on the heels of yesterday’s note about the new, healthier “Bistro Boxes” they’re selling at Starbucks, and widespread reports that a lot of restaurants chains are in financial trouble and generally make terrible investments.
Does this mean that a decade of talk about childhood obesity and all the best efforts of Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters are actually starting to do some good? This would all depend on how many kids actually want to eat apple “fries” instead of French fries the next time they roll through Burger King. Anyway, we’re glad they’re not just blaming the media.
Chain restaurants will make kids menus healthier [AP/Examiner]
Related: Which Restaurant Chain Will Go Bankrupt Next?
Blame the Media for America’s Little Fatties
