“I’m hungry, mom. Can you please get me some chicken and French fries?” This high pitched plea rang out from the back seat of the car with a clear emphasis on the PLEASE.
Sometimes, I strongly dislike those signs for the fast food restaurants. They are never missed by a young child who decides he’s hungry right at that moment. Usually, I will distract and redirect, but on this rare occasion I gave in. I am human. It was past dinner time and we still had an hour drive from the amusement park back to our hotel, part of weekend trip to celebrate my son’s birthday. He had already eaten every piece of fruit and whole grain snack bar we packed during the day.
As I passed the paper bag full of greasy salty food back to his anxious hands, I wondered what I was really passing to him (and also somewhat wishing I had ordered something for myself). I don’t fuss over the very occasional “junk” food, but I was curious to sit down and really see what it was he was eating. He isn’t always the best eater, but of course, on this very active day, he ate every last bite.
So, I looked it up. His bag contained 4 chicken nuggets, 1% white milk, apple slices, and a kid’s size fry. According to the website for the restaurant we purchased from, my son got the following nutrition from his food:
Calories 420
Calories from Fat 180
Total Fat 20g (30%)
Saturated Fat 4.5g (22%)
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 35mg (12%)
Sodium 550mg (23%)
Total Carbs 43g (14%)
Sugars 15g
Protein 18g
Vitamin A 500IU (10%)
Vitamin C 107mg (180%)
Calcium 350mg (35%)
Iron 1mg (4%)
Ok, now what does that really mean?
Here’s what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends kids get calorie-wise, ideally spread among each food group for a healthy, balanced diet:
Calories*
- 2-3 years: 1,000
- 4-8: 1,200-1,400
- 9-13 (female): 1,600
- 9-13 (male): 1,800
- 14-18 (female): 1,800
- 14-18 (male): 2,200
* For active children, calorie requirements may be greater
(taken from healthychildren.org)
Based on his age, I assume he needs about 1200 calories split by 3 meals and 2 snacks. That means he should take in ~3×300 calorie meals and 2×150 calories snacks. So this rather minimalist meal, compared to most fast food options, has already given him more calories in a single meal than I would normally aim for. However, I know he didn’t eat a 300 calorie breakfast. We are probably ok overall.
Protein*
- 2-3 years: 2 ounces
- 4-8: 4 ounces
- 9-13 (female): 5 ounces
- 9-13 (male): 5 ounces
- 14-18 (female): 5 ounces
- 14-18 (male): 6-7 ounces
* For active children, calorie requirements may be greater
Most lean protein has 7-9 grams of protein per ounce so we are on target with 18 grams of protein between the milk and the nuggets providing half of his protein for the day, assuming that isn’t his only protein for the day.
Fat
The USDA recommends ~ 23-35% of calories come from fat for children 4-18. In this meal, 43% of the calories come from fat, so we are starting to see the effect of the fried nuggets and potatoes on the nutrition in this meal.
Sodium
Children should eat less the 2,300mg of sodium per day. This meal has 550mg. Not as bad as I expected. It can add up quickly.
My take home for this is two-fold:
1) Fast food is not the end of the world on occasion; however, a similar meal made at home using an oven and whole foods would contain more protein, less sodium, less fat, and allow you to add more fruit and vegetables, which are lacking in this mix. It also saves you from having to refrain from ordering something for yourself.
2) Choose your child’s meal for them. This is the meal I chose for my child balancing his wants with his needs. Had he been asked, he would have picked 4 chicken nuggets, double kids fry, and chocolate milk. A meal that contains more fat, more sugar, more salt, and less vitamins.
Calories 550
Calories from Fat 200
Total Fat 23g (35%)
Saturated Fat 3.5g (18%)
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 30 mg (11%)
Sodium 620mg (26%)
Total Carbs 65g (22%)
Dietary Fiber 4g (16%)
Sugars 22g
Protein 20g
Vitamin A 500IU (10%)
Vitamin C 19mg (30%)
Calcium 320mg (30%)
Iron 2.5 mg (15%)
Kick it up to a “big kids meal” with a double patty cheese burger, small fries, small soda, and a yogurt squeeze and you can quickly see how this gets out of hand…
Calories 790
Calories from Fat 260
Total Fat 28g (44%)
Saturated Fat 10g (49%)
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 80 mg (26%)
Sodium 1030mg (43%)
Total Carbs 110g (37%)
Dietary Fiber 4g (17%)
Sugars 51g
Protein 27g
Vitamin A 480IU (10%)
Vitamin C 19mg (30%)
Calcium 320mg (30%)
Iron 2.5 mg (15%)
Comments