The nutritional quality of individual items offered with kids' meals improved at some restaurants, but less than 1% of the 5,427 kids' meal combinations met recommended nutrition standards.
There was a 54% increase in the number of possible kids' meal combinations available in 2013 compared with 2010. However, there was no change in the number of combinations that qualified as healthy meals for elementary school-age children.
Only 3% of kids' meal combinations met the food industry's own revised CFBAI nutrition standards or the National Restaurant Association's Kids LiveWell standards.
Children and teens eat an extra 126 and 310 calories, respectively, on days they eat fast food. Fast food consumption also increases the intake of sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and sugary drinks.
On average, U.S. preschoolers viewed 2.8 fast food ads on TV every day in 2012, children (6-11 years) viewed 3.2 ads per day, and teens viewed 4.8 ads per day.
Six companies were responsible for more than 70% of the TV ads seen by children and teens in 2012.
On average, US preschoolers saw 2.8 fast food ads per day, children saw 3.2 ads per day, and teens saw 4.8 ads per day.
The total number of TV fast food ads seen by children ages 6 to 11 decreased by 10% between 2009 and 2012, but there was no change in the number of ads seen by children ages 2 to 5.
The majority of fast food restaurants stepped up their TV advertising to children. Among the top-25 advertisers, 19 increased advertising to preschoolers and 14 increased ads to older children
McDonald's remained the only restaurant to advertise more to children than to teens or adults on TV.
McDonald's placed a total of 34 million display ads for Happy Meals on websites each month, a 63% increase from 2009. Three-quarters of these ads appeared on kids' websites like Nick.com, Roblox.com, and CartoonNetwork.com.
Healthier kids' meals were advertised, but represented only one-quarter of fast food ads viewed by children on TV.
Teens saw as many or more TV advertisements for Taco Bell, Sonic, and Starbucks than adults, although teens watch 30% less TV�thus these restaurants likely targeted their ads specifically to adolescents.
Fast food restaurants placed 6 billion display ads on Facebook in 2012, 19% of all their online display advertising.
Between 2009 and 2012, fast food restaurant likes and followers on Facebook and Twitter increased between 200% and 6,400%. Six fast food restaurants each have more than 10 million likes on Facebook.
Fast food restaurants continued to target black and Hispanic youths, populations at high risk for obesity and related diseases.
Black and Hispanic youth were more likely than their white and non-Hispanic peers to visit one-third or more of all fast food websites. For instance, Hispanic youths were 30% more likely to visit HappyMeal.com, while black youths were 44% more likely to visit.