Fast Food restaurants in the US are once again under scrutiny for offering kids’ meals which have higher-than-required level of calories. Public health agencies and parents’ groups have long blamed the fast food industry for exposing children and young adults to unhealthy food choices in a country where a dangerously-high percentage of kids are reported to be overweight.

On Monday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report which studied the menus of kids’ meals at thirteen popular restaurants like KFC, Sonic, Taco Bell, Chick a fill and Jack in the Box. More than 90 % of the meals examined were found to contain twice the recommended levels of fats and calories. While a four to eight-year old needs around 430 calories per meal, 93% of the 1474 menus studied exceeded the 430-calorie mark.

Among all the fast food restaurants studied, the Center rated Subway the best for offering nutritious choices. It found that only a third of its Fresh Fit for Kids meals contained more than 430 calories. However the findings by CSPI was not accepted by many popular fast food companies like KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King Corp who claimed that they do offer kids’ meals which contain less than 430 calories.

-Kalyani Mookherji