Most parents take their children to QSRs weekly: study

More than four of five parents report taking their children (aged 2 to 11) to a fast food restaurant at least once in the past seven days.

The finding is part of a new study from Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The study detailed fast food marketing to children and children’s fast food dining habits.

Among children aged 2 to 11, 40 percent ask their parents to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, while 15 percent of preschoolers ask their parents to go every day.

Teenagers aged 13 to 17 order 800 to 1,100 calories in their average fast food meal, accounting for roughly half of their recommend daily caloric intake. A single meal at most fast food chains provides at least half of the recommended daily sodium intake for youth.

“Despite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids,” Jennifer Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center, said in a statement. “Today, preschoolers see 21 percent more fast food ads on TV than they saw in 2003, and somewhat older children see 34 percent more.”

McDonald’s and Burger King offer healthier side dish options for kids’ meals, and the study noted that they only show the healthy sides and beverages in advertising targeted to children. However, at least 86 percent of the time they automatically serve French fries with a kids’ meal, and at least 55 percent of the time they automatically include a soft drink.

Among older children aged 6 to 11, 27 percent are likely to order a dollar menu item or a combo meal, while 21 percent are likely to order a kids’ meal. More than 60 percent of the fast food ads children see promote foods that are not kids’ meals, the study found.

The study found that fast food advertising is particularly targeting African American children and teens, who see at least 50 percent more fast food advertising than their Caucasian counterparts.“

During a time when we are trying to fight the obesity epidemic, it is alarming that the fast food industry spends approximately $4.2 billion a year on marketing unhealthy foods and beverages to children,” Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said in a statement responding to the study’s findings. “In the past year, the restaurant industry was part of a collaborative effort with Congress to include new menu labeling requirements in the health care reform law, and some restaurant chains have already started this practice. I urge the industry to continue this effort to combat the obesity epidemic and work toward developing meaningful standards for child-targeted marketing that would apply to all fast food restaurants.”

Researchers examined the marketing efforts of 12 of the largest fast food chains in the U.S. using syndicated data from The Nielsen Company, comScore Inc and Arbitron Inc, supplemented with independent studies where the data was unavailable. They also conducted content analyses and audits inside restaurants and examined nutritional information for more than 3,000 kids’ meal combinations and 2,781 items on fast food menus.

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