Marketing fast food to kidsFast food: what kids are eating

Kids regularly eat too much too much fat, salt, sat fat and sugar at fast food outlets

When we interviewed more than 1,000 children aged 8 to 15 about their fast food eating habits, they revealed to us that they are regularly eating far too much fat, salt, saturated fat and sugar.

On their last visit to a fast food restaurant, on average children ate almost half their recommended calories for the day in one meal: 868 at McDonalds, 912 at KFC and 947 at Burger King.

Consumption of fat, sat fat, sugar and salt was also high. On their last visit, kids ate on average the following proportions of their guideline daily amount of salt and saturated fat:

Salt

KFC 62%
Burger King 59%
McDonalds 42%

Sat fat

Burger King 56%
McDonalds 43%
KFC 35%

What kids should eat

Guideline daily amounts provide a guide to the amount of calories, fat, sat fat, sugar and salt that you should eat as part of a healthy diet.

What kids should eat
	4-6 years	7-10 years	11-14 years	15-18 years
Girls
Calories (kcal)	1,550	1,750	1,850	2,100
Sugar (g)	75	85	90	105
Saturated fat (g)	20	20	25	25
Fat (g)	60	70	70	80
Salt (g)	3	5	6	6
Boys
Calories (kcal)	1,700	1,950	2,200	2,750
Sugar (g)	85	100	110	140
Saturated fat (g)	20	25	25	35
Fat (g)	65	75	85	105
Salt (g)	3	5	6	6

Kids are eating too much fast food

A third of 12 to 15 year olds choose larger fast food meals containing more calories

Younger children are most likely to eat a fast food meal containing a smaller item such as a hamburger or chicken piece. They visit mainly with their parents, who can control what they eat, which could explain why they consume a lower percentage of their guideline daily amounts (GDAs). They are also most likely to eat a healthy item such as fruit.

As they get older, the kids told us that they are more likely to visit fast food outlets with friends and progress to items containing more calories and other nutrients. 11 to 14 year olds consumed around 55g of sugar – half of their GDA – on their last visit to both McDonalds and Burger King.

Instead of opting for, say, a small burger, a third of 12 to 15 year olds choose larger adult items such as a Big Mac, Double Whopper or Fillet Tower Burger. A meal (burger, fries and soft drink) containing these items could contain up to 1,433 calories – 65% of their GDA.

Fast food 'snacks'

Some kids go to fast food outlets for a snack, but end up eating a whole meal

Around 16% of children visit fast food restaurants for a snack – and the older they get, the more likely this is. You would expect children visiting for a meal to consume a greater proportion of calories for the day, but proportions were also high for snacks: children consumed 34% of their GDAs in a snack at KFC, and 38% at McDonalds and Burger King.

A quarter of those who said they were visiting for a snack still ate a whole meal containing three items, around 585 calories. Eating this on top of a usual day’s breakfast, lunch and dinner means that they are consuming far more calories than they need, and are likely to be exceeding their recommended amounts of fat, sugar, salt and sat fat.

Our research

In April 2009, Which? interviewed 1,003 children aged 8 to 15 years online. We asked them about their eating habits at the three leading fast food chains: McDonalds, KFC and Burger King.