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Are Happy Meals doomed? 19 restaurant chains pledge healthier kids' meals

The fight against childhood obesity has gained new allies. Some 15,000 restaurants from 19 chains have agreed to offer low-calorie, lower-fat meals for children and adults.

When walking into a restaurant, which governs your food choices: taste or nutrition? How about your kids鈥� choices?

In an effort to increase healthy options for consumers 鈥� especially children 鈥� 19 restaurant chains have pledged to offer meals that follow strict dietary guidelines, as part of a new initiative from the National Restaurant Association and Healthy Dining.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to change consumer behaviors,鈥� says Dr. Robert Post, deputy director of the USDA Center for Nutrition, Policy and Promotions. 鈥淲e need to reach people where they ... make food decisions everyday.鈥�

Nationwide, an estimated 10 percent of infants and toddlers are overweight, in addition to nearly 20 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds who are overweight or obese, according to the National Institute of Medicine.

Parents control the food choices for young kids, says Susan Babey, who researches fast food and dietary behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles. 鈥淏ut parents can experience a lot of pressure 鈥� particularly when they鈥檙e out in public, and their kids express a particular desire.鈥�

Marketing that promotes healthy choices could make all the difference, she suggests.

By volunteering in the Kids LiveWell initiative, restaurants agree to promote 鈥� and market 鈥� nutritious menu items, display nutrition facts, and offer meals that meet detailed dietary criteria:

• A full kid鈥檚 meal (entr茅e, side, and drink) must include two food groups without topping 600 calories.
• A side of 200 calories or less must be one full serving of a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, lean protein, or lower-fat dairy.
• Neither the entr茅e nor side can exceed specified levels of sugar or sodium, or calories from total fat, saturated fat, or trans fat.

Burger King will offer a 4-piece chicken tender meal with fat-free milk and BK Fresh Apple Fries. That provides one serving each of fruit and dairy for 350 total calories, fitting it tidily within the guidelines.

The International House of Pancakes will serve a scrambled egg and pancake meal with a side of fresh fruit totaling 260 calories.

But there鈥檚 more to healthy eating than fewer calories, cautions Kate Scarlata, a dietician and co-author of Real People Need Real Food: A Guide to Healthy Eating for Families Living in a Fast Food World.

鈥淪ometimes this can be confusing for customers,鈥� Ms. Scarlata says. 鈥淵ou put this healthy food jargon out there 鈥� but define 鈥榟ealthy鈥�.鈥�

She thinks that a 600-calorie standard is high, and that the levels of sodium and sugar in the dietary requirements are still too generous.

鈥淚 can certainly applaud any organization or restaurant that provides better nutrition for children,鈥� Scarlata says. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 want parents to go in and think Burger King has healthy options. It鈥檚 improved.鈥�

On Monday, first lady Michelle Obama, who spearheads the Let鈥檚 Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity, enjoyed some not-so-healthy food at the Washington Shake Shack diner: a burger, fries, chocolate shake, and diet Coke.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to live a life where I can never have [burgers and fries] again,鈥� she told USA Today last year. 鈥淎nd if we told families and children that that was the answer, we鈥檇 never get there.鈥�

You can still indulge in a burger-and-fries meal if you have an overall dietary plan, says Judith Stern, an nutritionist at University of California, Davis.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to take an approach that isn鈥檛, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e really bad, don鈥檛 do this,鈥� 鈥� Professor Stern says. 鈥淔ood is meant to be enjoyed.鈥�

She suggests asking fast food restaurants to give you fewer French fries, or throwing away some of your buttery movie popcorn before taking your seat. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have it, you won鈥檛 eat it.鈥�

Babey agrees. 鈥淧eople have a tendency to finish a meal 鈥� and it doesn鈥檛 necessarily matter if something is 400 calories or 800 calories,鈥� she says.

鈥淚f kids can get healthier options with a kid鈥檚 meal, that鈥檚 an improvement,鈥� Babey says. 鈥淚t remains to be seen if people will gravitate to them or not.鈥�

Restaurants participating in the Kids LiveWell initiative include: Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba鈥檚 Italian Grill, Chevys Fresh Mex, Chili鈥檚 Grill & Bar, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny鈥檚, El Pollo Loco, Friendly鈥檚, IHOP, Joe鈥檚 Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza - adding up to some 15,000 locations nationwide.