A new international survey from Consumers International (CI) shows how McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC are still marketing meals with high levels of fat, sugar and salt to children.

Despite reformulating their products to reduce levels of fat, sugar and salt and offering ‘healthier’ options in some outlets, several fast food children’s meals were still found to contain more than 50% of a child’s guideline daily amount. For children between four and six years old some levels could reach 70% of the guideline daily amount.

All of the chains continue to include high sugar fizzy drinks in the children’s meals they market to children despite the fact that Coca Cola and PepsiCo have policies that prohibit the marketing of their products to children under 12.

Marketing targeted at teenage children often promoted items from the adult menu that in many cases contain higher levels of fat, sugar and salt than the children’s options.

This report is part of CI’s Junk Food Generation campaign calling for an international code on the marketing of food to children. The code would target the marketing of energy dense nutrient poor food high in fat sugar and salt to children under 16. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently developing recommendations on the issue for submission to member states.

The CI survey was conducted in 14 countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

To download the full report, please log on to www.junkfoodgeneration.org

Source: http://www.junkfoodgeneration.org/