Burger King has joined a growing list of fast-food restaurants bowing to pressure from advocacy groups to keep soda away from kids.
The restaurant no longer advertises kids’ meals to include soft drinks and has dropped the sweet beverages from its kids’ menu boards, an unannounced move reportedly made at the
end of February, according to USA Today. Soft drinks can still be ordered for children, if specified.
Burger King followed Wendy’s, which made the decision in January to draw less attention to sodas for children. McDonald’s, Chipotle, Arby’s, and others have also changed their soft drink marketing.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a leading advocacy group promoting clearer nutrition labeling and making healthy drink choices for kids, applauded Burger King for its decision.
“Restaurant chains that market soda as part of their children's meals are making life harder for parents, most of whom want to reserve soda as a special, occasional treat if they allow it at all,” the organization said in a release. “It will help children eat better now, as soda is the leading source of calories in children's diets. It also helps to set kids on a path toward healthier eating in the future, with fewer kids becoming conditioned to think that soda should be a part of every eating out occasion.”
Burger King’s children’s meals are now advertised with low-fat milk and Capri Sun apple juice.
The decision by the fast-food giant received a giant stamp of approval online:
WebMD said health officials refer to soda as “liquid candy,” and they warn that sweet drinks — including juice, Gatorade, and others besides soda — can lead to obesity.
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