Kids' meal

[5] Some fast food corporations considered children as their "most important" customers, owing to the success of the kids' meals.

[8] In 2011, nineteen food chains participating in the Kids Live Well initiative—including Burger King, Denny's, IHOP, Chili's, Friendly's, Chevy's, and El Pollo Loco—pledged to "offer at least one children's meal that has fewer than 600 calories, no soft drinks and at least two items from the following food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins or low-fat dairy".

[15] In the United States, kids' meals have been blamed for ingraining unhealthy dietary habits in children and augmenting child obesity.

[16] In 2010, Santa Clara County, California implemented a ban on toys accompanying kids' meals that fail nutritional standards;[17] affected restaurants showed a 2.8- to 3.4-fold improvement in Children's Menu Assessment scores[18] from pre- to post-ordinance (e.g., improvements in on-site nutritional guidance; promotion of healthy meals, beverages, and side items; and toy marketing and distribution activities) with minimal changes at unaffected restaurants.

[note 2] Research that examined the impact of the San Francisco ban indicated that both affected restaurant chains responded to the ordinance by selling toys separately from children's meals, but neither changed their menus to meet ordinance-specified nutrition criteria.