1851

<div id="pastingspan1">In an effort to keep up with today&#8217;s growing health trend, restaurants are offering more low calorie and health conscious options than ever before. But now, large restaurant chains are narrowing in on cutting calories for one specific consumer group&#8212;kids. According to an article in QSR Magazine, QSRs across the country are working to make their kids&#8217; meals healthier. A study in the April issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior looked at the 2014 menus of ten major fast food brands, including <a href="http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/Company/Franchise-With-Us/?localechange=1&amp%3B=&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=keeping-up-with-the-healthy-food-trend-why-qsrs-are-cutting-calories-from-their-kids-meals-4363" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dairy Queen</a>, <a href="http://www.bk.com/franchising/home?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=keeping-up-with-the-healthy-food-trend-why-qsrs-are-cutting-calories-from-their-kids-meals-4363" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Burger King</a> and <a href="http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/franchising.html?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=keeping-up-with-the-healthy-food-trend-why-qsrs-are-cutting-calories-from-their-kids-meals-4363" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">McDonald&#8217;s</a>, and ten full-service restaurants to analyze their healthy menu items. It found that 72 percent of QSRs and 63 percent of full-service chains offered kids&#8217; meals under 600 calories. That&#8217;s a good sign for the restaurant industry&#8212;lower calorie options with appropriate portion sizes for children are the first step in creating healthy menus. Christina Economos, an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, told QSR magazine, &#8220;We know that overall obesity is related to energy-in and energy-out, so a really important first step is to make sure that the portions are correct and that the amount of food that children are consuming at meals throughout the day is appropriate for growth development.&#8221; There&#8217;s still room for QSRs to improve&#8212;calories and portion sizes aren&#8217;t the only factors that contribute to overall health. Fat, saturated fat and sodium are other standard measurements that need to be considered in order for menus to truly be considered healthy. The study found that only 31.9 percent of QSRs and 21.7 percent of full-service restaurants met the health standards for all of those variables. That means restaurants need to build on their low calorie foundations in order to serve healthy meals, especially for kids. &#8220;I can&#8217;t speak for decisions that restaurants make, but from a public-health perspective calories are a really good place to start because it&#8217;s easy to reformulate and work on portion sizes, but we really want to see additional changes toward all nutrients within food,&#8221; said Economos. Click <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/quick-serves-cut-calories-kids-meals?utm_campaign=20160422&amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_source=jolt&amp%3Bmicrosite=525176&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=keeping-up-with-the-healthy-food-trend-why-qsrs-are-cutting-calories-from-their-kids-meals-4363" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> to read the original QSR Magazine article.</div>

1851 Franchise

A study found 72 percent of QSRs offer children’s meal combinations under 600 calories.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

Keeping Up With The Healthy Food Trend: Why QSRs Are Cutting Calories From Their Kids’ Meals    

keeping-up-with-the-healthy-food-trend-why-qsrs-are-cutting-calories-from-their-kids-meals

BooXkeeping

image of booxkeeping franchise graduation present

Why a BooXkeeping Franchise Might Be the Smartest Graduation Gift You Can Give

booxkeeping-franchise-graduation-gift

KidStrong Franchising, LLC

image of kidstrong franchisees NFL player Shaun Wade and his former Team USA Heptathlete wife Jordan

Why This Athlete Couple Chose To Open a KidStrong Franchise

nfl-player-shaun-wade-kidstrong-franchise-georgia

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Team of home inspectors exiting branded HomeTeam Inspection Service vehicle

HomeTeam Inspection Service Offers Franchise Opportunity With No Experience Required

hometeam-franchise-training

Comfort Keepers

image of comfort keepers employees franchise

Comfort Keepers® Partners With PocketRN to Enhance Dementia Care Nationwide

comfort-keepers-pocketrn-dementia-care-partnership

Right at Home

Right at Home Franchise - Q3 2025 Momentum - 1851 Franchise

Right at Home Continues Momentum as It Closes Out the Third Quarter and Looks Ahead To Hit Its Annual Signings and Openings Goal by the End of the Year

right-at-home-franchise-q3-2025

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Photo of Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza franchisee Lily Wilford

Entrepreneur: This 18-Year-Old Saves Babysitting Money for College — Then Decided to Buy a Business Instead

18-year-old-franchise-owner-lily-wilford

Amazon outage, AWS outage, Amazon AWS logo

The Day the Cloud Stalled: How Amazon's Outage Impacted Franchise Economy

amazon-aws-outage-franchise-impact-travel-dining-failure

Thursday 1851 Franchise Agg - NASAA’s Noncompete Push

NASAA’s Noncompete Push Puts Franchise Growth on Uncertain Ground

franchise-noncompete-nasaa-advisory-reasonableness-standard

How a Steady Economy Could Help Franchisors Plan Their Next Move

how-a-steady-economy-could-help-franchisors-plan-their-next-move

Bed Bath & Beyond - Franchise Expansion - Retail Strategy - 1851 Franchise

Bed Bath & Beyond Launches Franchise Model as Part of Comeback Strategy

bed-bath-beyond-franchise-expansion-retail-strategy

NJCAR v. Ford - New Jersey Supreme Court Limits Standing Under Franchise Practices Act

New Jersey Supreme Court Limits Standing Under Franchise Practices Act

new-jersey-franchise-practices-act-njcar-v-ford

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities - 1851 Franchise Agg

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities 

health-care-hiring-slowdown-in-home-care-franchise-opportunities

A Practical Playbook: Who To Call First When Franchising Your Business

franchising-your-business-who-to-call-first

image of jerome hanway from right at home Las Cruces, New Mexico 1851 franchise franchisee spotlight

Jerome Hanway Is Building His Right at Home Franchise Around His Mission To Serve

right-at-home-franchise-las-cruces-jerome-hanway

image of franchise deep dive from 1851 franchise on doody calls franchise authority brands

DoodyCalls Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

doodycalls-franchise-deep-dive

graphic image of an 1851 franchisee spotlight brayden and johnny steven of teriyaki madness

Father-and-Daughter Team Bring Teriyaki Madness to Wichita, Kansas, With Big Expansion Plans

johnny-brayden-steven-teriyaki-madness-wichita

image of michael panos and michel panos, owners of mellow mushroom in Atlanta

Keeping Up With The Healthy Food Trend: Why QSRs Are Cutting Calories From Their Kids’ Meals

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS