New Effort to Drop Sugary Drinks from Kids' Menus - East Idaho News
Health

New Effort to Drop Sugary Drinks from Kids’ Menus

  Published at

GETTY 2414 FountainDrinks?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1391511045161fotofermer/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — U.S. health officials are spearheading a campaign to make fast-food restaurant meals designed for kids not so sweet.

With McDonald’s already agreeing to remove sugary drinks from its children’s’ menu, dozens of federal and local health groups in addition to nutritional experts are calling on other popular eateries to do the same.

In a letter, the groups said, “With 1-in-3 children overweight or obese in the United States, it no longer makes sense to include sugary beverages in restaurant meals for young children.”

Those approached included Wendy’s, Burger King and 21 other restaurant chains.

Margo G. Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says that research has shown youngsters who consume just one sugary drink per day are at a 60 percent greater risk of becoming obese than kids who eschew these beverages.

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION