Jack Hollingsworth/Photodisc/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The “kid’s menu” at your local restaurant may fall short when it comes to nutritious fare, according to a new study that looked at restaurants in two states in the southeastern United States.
Researchers at Virginia Tech looked at nearly 140 children menus from various restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia in a study published Thursday in Preventing Chronic Disease.
Researchers found that even though restaurants offered on average five meal options in the kid’s menu, barely one in 10 menus included at least one healthy option.
While 39 percent of the restaurants reviewed offered fruit, only 23 percent offered fruit without added sugar, and 33 percent of the restaurants offered a healthy drink option.
Although some restaurants turned to milk as their healthy substitute, researchers say only 28.5 percent of the restaurants reviewed offered low-fat or skim milk as an option.
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