McDonald's gained favorable reviews for announcing this week it would include apples and fewer fries in Happy Meals, but the University of Minnesota's Simone French said the fast-food chain missed a bigger chance to improve kids' health.
Dump the soda, she argued.
"At least fries are potatoes," she said. "For kids, sugary beverages aren't what they need."
French is an expert on marketing and societal influences that affect eating behaviors and is studying how to improve the diets and habits of low-income Minnesota families. These families are particularly affected by fast-food practices, she said, because those restaurants offer food they can afford.
"What you could do is not even offer a sugar-sweetened beverage in a kids' meal," she said. "If parents want it, they should have to order it separately off the menu.
"It's sugar water. There's nothing in there that's good."
If parents don't specify a drink, the default at McDonald's right now is to provide a soda cup with a kids' meal. Milk is an option, but parents have to ask for it. And that's the problem, French said, because there is ample research showing that people tend to choose the easier, default option when making all sorts of purchases.
"So when you go up to order your Happy Meal, the default is what you pick," French said. "If you have to do something extra, you're not going to do that."
