Children’s menus in American restaurants: Analysis for sodium and calories

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe intent of this study was to assess the caloric and sodium contents in Children’s meal provided by forty selected limited service and casual dining restaurants. Meals from casual dining restaurants exceeded in both kcal and sodium limits compared to the limited service restaurants. Only 17.5% of the casual dining restaurants and 53.1% of the limited service restaurants met the kcal limit, whereas 1.8% of the casual dining restaurants and 5% of the limited service restaurants met the ≤ 500 mg limit for sodium. Strong correlations existed between caloric and sodium content in children’s meals offered by both types of restaurants.