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• Book of the Week: Eat This Not That - For Kids!

  Eating out is one of life's great pleasures, but if you're anything like me, every meal out involves a hefty dose of denial. I've been a waitress. I've watched the guys in the kitchen lay a "low-fat" grilled chicken breast onto a steaming pile of lard, drop whole cups of butter into vats of "healthy" rice, and marinate "nutritious" vegetables in more oil than I have in my whole apartment -- and yet I still order the grilled chicken with rice and vegetables because it's the "healthy" option. Of course, when it comes to my kid, I'd rather have the blinders lifted.  That's why I'm fascinated by the new Eat This Not That book,  which gives a restaurant-by-restaurant run-down of the healthiest and least healthy things to order for your child. Some of the revelations are surprising: at Chick-Fil-A, the nuggets with BBQ sauce have 200 fewer calories than... Read More... Posted Sep 12 2008, 03:05 PM by editors with | with no comments Filed under: health, fast food, nutrition, books, book of the week, eat this not that

• Nasty Surprise in McDonalds Burger

  Call it a Not So Happy Meal. Or a Crappy Meal. Or… oh, whatever. A woman went to the McDonald's drive-thru and ordered a bunch of Happy Meals for her kids. When one of them bit into her cheeseburger, she got a little surprise... Read More... Posted Sep 02 2008, 10:00 AM by Brett Singer with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: food, mcdonald's, fast food, wtf, McDonalds, gross, Brett Singer, whopper, fast food nation, happy meal, big mac, eww, mickey d's, mickey ds

• Fast Food Eats Up Your Money

  Sure, fast food isn't eating up your budget, since you don't eat it ... ever! But apparently bagged-up, drive-thru fare takes a bigger bite out of every other family's monthly income than stuff we might consider good for kids. Read More... Posted Jun 03 2008, 08:34 AM by Madeline Holler with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: fast food, food budget, family food budget

• Ending the Food Fight: Stopping Childhood Obesity

  You pretty much can't turn on the tv with out hearing how fat American kids are today. Every empire must fall. In Rome, Christian was the downfall. In England it was overextension. Apparently the fall of the American Empire will be juvenile diabetes.       A new book tackles the “epidemic” of childhood obesity in our country...  Read More... Posted May 14 2008, 09:01 AM by Cole Gamble with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: food, fast food, fat, childhood obesity, diet, overweight, Americans, book, juvinile diabetes, dr. david ludwig

• Weekly Check-Up: Skittles and Wellness

  Maybe you heard this story: An honor student at a Connecticut middle school got busted for buying Skittles on school grounds. He was stripped of his job as class president, banned from attending an honors student dinner, and suspended for three days, later communted to one day (maybe for good behavior, like he ate an apple in front of the principal or something.) The latest breaking news is that he was cleared of the charges and had his records cleaned up. The student says he didn't know candy was contraband, though he did notice the student dealing in sweets was acting all furtive. Candy is forbidden as part of the school's wellness policy. Ah, back in my day the schools themselves sold candy to kids at a snack bar, and I'm super glad that's a thing of the past. But... Read More... Posted Mar 13 2008, 01:31 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: kids, education, fast food, school, junk food, middle school, crime, candy, rules, weekly check-up, skittles, honor student, suspended

• The Worst Kids Meal Packs 1,200 Calories in a Bowl

  Remember when the Center for Science in the Public Interest came out with a devastating report on movie theater popcorn? How it was loaded with calories and fat in numbers so high we could hardly imagine it? We kept on eating it, sure, but it was also a nice tap on the shoulder that we even if we read labels in the store, we’re kind of flapping in the wind when it comes to eating outside our homes. Then some 10 years later, we get people who want to pass laws forcing that kind of information to be available in restaurants too! But we cry out! “Idiots,” we say, “fast food is fattening! Get over it!” And then we try to order salads and stuff. Make good choices. Attempt to be a little healthier without new laws or the help of anyone. That’s why I love stories like this, ...   Read More... Posted Dec 15 2007, 02:18 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: fast food, obesity, eating out with kids, restaurants, health and kids

• Kids Know McDonald's is Just Better

  All the healthy eating in the world apparently can't undo the power of branding, even to a preschooler. A new study of 3- and 5-year olds showed that kids overwhelmingly preferred the food in the McDonald's wrapper to its identical twin in the generic wrapper. I think I'm going to be sick now. "This study demonstrates simply and elegantly that advertising literally brainwashes young children into a baseless preference for certain food products ... Children, it seems, literally do judge a food by its cover. And they prefer the cover they know."   Read More... Posted Aug 07 2007, 05:05 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: food, mcdonald's, fast food, junk food, preschoolers, studies' food preferences

• Banning Fast Food Advertising Will Not Cure Obesity

  Currently, thirty-seven percent of Malaysians are considered obese. In an effort to combat the rising obesity rates among their country's population, the Malaysian government has decided to ban all fast food advertising from children's programming. I think this is ridiculous. If the government feels an item is detrimental to the health of its citizens, the item should be outlawed, not the advertising. If an item can be legally sold to a certain demographic, there is no reason why that item should not be advertised to that demographic. It should be up to the individual, or in this case, the parent to decide how to process the advertisements. Read More... Posted Jul 12 2007, 04:30 PM by ChagHolland with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: fast food, obesity, childhood obesity, advertsing to kids

• McDonalds and Shrek Eat Your Kid's Brain

  Don't you hate it when something as obvious as a McDonald's campaign promoting Shrek the Third succeeds in transforming a simple outing to Playland into your 2 year old asking about for another chance to push the burp button on "the guy?" No? Well, then you're probably much too busy cooking healthful veggie-filled meals.  My kids? They eat at McDonalds. But nevermind all the beef recalls and the concerns about childhood obesity.  What really gets me is all the Happy Meal Marketing. I doubt George Lucas knew what he was starting, back when he turned heads by creating a whole product line from Star Wars. Now we have that damn Shrek.  You know the one.  The "movie for kids" that's really just an excuse for parents to embrace their inner teenager and tell fart jokes? Well, the promotion is working.  And McDonalds is laughing all the way to the bank. Posted Jun 11 2007, 04:59 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: kids, Movies, fast food, nutrition, shrek, McDonalds, playland

• Shrek Continues Health Campaign With...Happy Meals?

  If you were shaking your head when you found out that the US Department of Health and Human Services had enlisted Shrek as a mascot, you'll be rolling your eyes right out of their sockets when you hear about how Shrek and McDonald's are teaming up to promote "healthy" Happy Meals. Shrek and his pals are pushing the items that McDonalds has added over the years as a sop to the pressure they've been under for marketing such garbage to families—the apple slices (with corn syrupalicious caramel dip), the water, the so-called-chicken nuggets. This week I played hardcore investigative journalist, and I pulled up to the McDonald's drive-thru and ordered four Happy Meals (two for my kids, two for Strollerderby blogger Alisyn's kids). I'm happy to report that despite reports to the contrary, Happy Meals are still utter shite. Nobody forced apples on me or even offered them; I was able to obtain fries with no problems. And the milk was not only chocolate, but the plastic bottles had a special Shrek label on it. And the straws were also Shrek-green. And the toys talk, and in fact, one of them burps. See the lengths I'll go to in order to get to the bottom of things? You're welcome.   Posted May 19 2007, 03:35 PM by Patti with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: healthy eating, health, mcdonald's, fast food, junk food, shrek, shrek the third

• Fast Food Joints Get Healthier, So You Don't Have to Feel (As) Bad

  Did you know that Burger King recently announced that it was only going to buy and serve humanely raised and slaughtered animals?  Me either.  Did you know that KFC and Taco Bell recently followed through on their promise to eliminate trans fats from their menus?  Me either!  But I know it's good news.  Quick-serve chains around the country—from McDonald's to Subway to Chick-Fil-A to Starbucks—are finally paying attention to what scientists and health experts have been saying for years: that you don't have to sacrifice taste for nutrition.  First they got rid of that horrible styrofoam packaging, then they started serving grilled chicken sandwiches and salads (some even serve veggie burgers!), and now they're kicking trans fats to the curb.  Fast food is getting positively modern!  Can serving serving antibiotic/hormone-free meat and dairy be next?  (Fingers crossed.) I am not above feeding my kids fast food from time to time, but if a healthier option were as quick and convenient as the McDonald's drive-thru, I'd gladly go out of my way to grab it (I'm thinking Whole Foods needed a drive-thru, like, yesterday.)  I try to pick the healthiest fast food options, but that's not enough to make me feel good about eating there.  So it's good to know everyone from Ronald McDonald to The King is thinking about how to change that.  The will is there —now they just need to find the way.  (Via Quick Serve Kids, a fabulous parenting blog for "guiding kids through the fast food world.") Posted May 02 2007, 11:01 AM by Alisyn with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: mcdonald's, fast food, starbucks, subway, taco bell, chick-fil-a, health and kids, kfc

• "Organicize Me": Michael Stusser Goes Organic For One Month

  Some of you may know Michael Stusser from his work over at ParentMap; he authored "The Accidental Parent", a column detailing his experience marrying the love of his life - who,as it turned out, had twin 10-year-old girls. His Sebastian Junger-esque courage firmly established, Stusser recently took up a challenge that many of us would shirk from. He spent the month of January eating and drinking only certified organic foods and beverages. Hilarity ensues, along with a thoughtful assessment of the benefits and challenges of eating au natural. For those new to the world of organic foods, Stusser provides a primer on what makes a product "organic". He then points out that the definition is a bit nebulous - there's a big difference between "organic" and "natural", and to meet USDA standards, 95% of the ingredients need to be organic (the other 5% can, for instance, be De-Con RoachProof). Of course, there's a political aspect to organics, but Stusser points out that organic farms are not the Trotskyist Paradise that one might think - and, indeed, organic food may be a bit bourgeois, as Stusser sees a 58% increase in the cost of his family's monthly groceries. Along with the serious stuff, Stusser points out the lighter side of his conversion ("Luckily, I discovered an organic vodka called Square One"). And even if you decide that those Jeno's Pizza Rolls are too goddamn tasty to give up, Stusser thinks that one can actually eat in a healthier and more environmentally responsible way. Now, speaking of organic vodka...   Posted Feb 28 2007, 11:15 AM by JasonAvant with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: food, fast food, environmental issues, fat, anti-consumerism, fitness, environmentalism, organic, groceries, Michael Stusser

• Junk Food Ads Contribute to Childhood Obesity. In Other News, Pope is Catholic.

  The third California Childhood Obesity Conference kicked off on Tuesday, the 23rd, and experts agree that marketing plays a big (and insidious) role in shaping kids' dietary habits. I was going to hold off on writing about this particular article until after the PR guys from McDonald's, Kellogg's, et al. put out statements questioning the validity of statements made by those speakers while defending their products ("But we also sell yogurt!"). There's just something exhilarating about people who are so nefariously intent on denying reality; putting a delusionary spin on matters of life and death is so vile and sad you just have to laugh. And yes, childhood obesity is a matter of life and death. The study highlighted in the O.C. Register article indicates that 1 on 4 Orange County children are overweight; we all know that young children who are obese have a much higher chance of developing serious and potentially life-shortening health problems. Read More... Posted Jan 25 2007, 02:00 PM by JasonAvant with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: television, feeding kids, fast food, nutrition, fathers, fat, fat kids, fat babies, childhood obesity, healtth, California, advertising

• Back Away From The Big Mac: Weaning Your Family From Fast Food

  Full disclosure: Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me didn't completely turn me off of fast food. They did help encourage me to dial my consumption back a notch, and they did make me appreciate living in a region that has In N Out Burger, but we still get the odd Happy Meal now and then, and as the rainy season impends, we'll probably be logging some time at the Play Place (whither the indoor playspaces in the Bay Area? Why so few and far between? But that's another post). That said, I plan menus weekly and I cook dinner pretty much from scratch almost every night of the month. That said, I'm a stay at home parent, I don't have kids old enough to have a heavy schedule of events in the late afternoon and evening (or, at their ages, any schedule at all), so it's hard for me to get my head around a calendar so busy that I feel I have no choice but to go out for fast food five nights a week. Yet such busy parents exist, and actually have to write for advice to get out of their ruts. And the expert's answer is, well, DUH, don't do it so much. I'd have taken my response a little further. What, you can't make a stack of (fresh-ground, sugarfree) peanut butter and (natural all-fruit) jelly (on whole grain bread) to bring along? You don't have a crock pot? You can't cook up a pot of spaghetti sauce or chili on Sunday afternoon and freeze half of it for Thursday? You're the only living person in North America who has somehow avoided knowledge of Rachael Ray? Get a wok! Have big salads for dinner! Freakin' Taco Night, lady! It takes five minutes to open a can of beans and heat it! Save your damn dinner, at least most of the time! Yes, your kids' sports activities are important and it's great that they're active, but one of the most crucial jobs we have as parents is to provide our children with healthy and nutritious food. If your schedule prevents you from providing a basic need, you need to revisit it! "Skip the fries and ask for extra lettuce and tomato" is practically giving this mother a pass to carry on as she's been doing, despite the rational advice that preceeds it. Those kids are still going to be eating food laced with high-fructose corn syrup every night, and they're athletes. They need to be eating healthy foods. Fast food, if it must be anything at all to your family, is a treat or a last resort. It's not what's for dinner. Posted Jan 11 2007, 08:00 AM by Patti with | with no comments Filed under: healthy eating, health, fast food, nutrition, eating, health and well-being of children.

• Supersizing China: New Statistics Say Chinese Kids Packing on Pounds

  I've been traveling to China on business for the past 12 years and every year when I return, it seems that the people have gotten both larger and taller.  Anecdotally speaking, the common thinking was that this was a sign of China's growing economy.  Now, in the first comprehensive study of China's growing obesity rate, the Chinese Ministry of Health has uncovered some astounding results. New figures show that urban Chinese boys age 6 are 2.5 inches taller and 6.6 pounds heavier on average than Chinese city boys 30 years ago!  In less than a generation, China has gone from an era of widespread famine and an underweight citizenship to an age of bountiful food and a burgeoning obesity problem.  Even more astounding is the fact that much of this has occurred in the past ten years! Bigger children are a source of pride and proof of prosperity for many Chinese.  Many of this generation's children had parents who grew up struggling to find a daily meal.  Therefore, although the Chinese government plans to embark on an anti-obesity campaign, many Chinese parents still adhere to the old adage that, "a fat child is a healthy child."  Contrast this to America's obsession with thinness and it makes an interesting comparison (as Chris Rock once said, "We got so much food in America, we're allergic to food. Allergic to food! Hungry people ain't allergic to shit. You think anyone in Rwanda's got a fuckin' lactose intolerance?!") Experts at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention are clearly linking the growing childhood obesity rate to the increased prevalence of American-style fast food.  Over the past 10 years, McDonalds and KFC have literally opened hundreds of outlets in China.  Naturally, both chains state that they seek to promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle.  However, I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that they are partly to blame.  After all, look what happened in Okinawa! Posted Jan 09 2007, 07:52 PM by MetroDad with | with no comments Filed under: fast food, China, obesity

• Kids Are Never Too Sick For A Double-Cheeseburger

  We all know that fast food joints are purveyors of the most disgusting, shit-infested slop around. That's why I was so shocked by this article, which tell us that more than 20% of the nation's children's hospitals have welcomed fast food restaurants into their lobbies. According to the story, at least 59 of the nation's 250 children's hospitals have fast-food restaurants. McDonald's, the Adolf Hitler of nutrition, is in 30 U.S. hospitals.  If 17 percent of U.S. children are considered obese, and if that obesity is at least partially related to "heavy consumption of calorie-laden fatty fast food," what possible justification could there be for bringing that shit into a hospital for children? Furthermore, sick kids need nutrition to get better. How well are the hospitals treating these poor little guys if they are implicitly telling them, "Yeah, eat as much of that crap as you like. Hell, go ahead and Super-Size it if you want to." But there is even a more disturbing dimension to this story. By permitting fast food restaurants to exist in a bona fide medical environment, hospitals deliver the message to their patients that eating shit-infested burgers and fried schnauzer tacos is a perfectly healthy diet. After all, they wouldn't put something dangerous to our health in a children's hospital, would they? Would they? Julie Pesch, a spokeshole for Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said the hospital chose to install a McDonald's many years ago as a special treat for sick kids going through difficult treatment. That, dear lady, is utter horseshit. You did it for the cash. [NOTE: Post edited to remove...um, delicate references. - Editor]  Posted Dec 13 2006, 08:00 AM by Dad Gone Mad with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: children, mcdonald's, dildo, fast food, hospitals, medicine, nutrition, healthalth