Obesity remains a huge problem in America—especially with one third of our our nation's children being classified as overweight or obese—but a number of large restaurant chains are now teaming up to do something about it. Of course, let's not go overboard: they're teaming up to cover themselves in case the government ever gets too worried about our nation's girth. To that end, more than a dozen chains, including Au Bon Pain, Burger King, Chili's, Denny's, Friendly's, IHOP and Outback Steakhouse, have created a "Kids LiveWell" initiative that aims to bring healthier fare to kids trays.
The voluntary initiative from the National Restaurant Association will soon roll out in the participating restaurant's 15,000 locations, and covers a number of criteria. Participants must offer a children's meal (entree, side, beverage) with 600 calories or less that includes two servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and/or low-fat dairy along with limits on sodium, fats and sugar. They also must offer at least one other single item with 200 calories or less that has limited fats, sugars and sodium. Finally, they must display (or "make available") the "the nutrition profile of the healthful menu options" and "promote/identify" them. But good luck getting your kids to actually eat the "Kids LiveWell" fare. As Homer and Bart once told Lisa, "you don't make friends with salad."
The timing of the announcement is interesting though. Just this week, academics have started discussing in public whether parents of extremely obese children should lose custody if they can't bring their kids' weight down. Of course it is worth noting that fast food isn't the only reason our children are overweight—there are many, many people to blame besides the eaters themselves, including the media, Diet Coke, and plain old eating out.
