In 2010, researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy
& Obesity issued Fast Food FACTS.1 The report examined the
nutritional quality of fast food menus, advertising on TV and the
internet, and marketing practices inside restaurants.
Since 2010, fast food restaurants have introduced healthier kids’
meal options and regular menu items. At the same time, they
have introduced high-calorie, nutritionally poor menu items, often
supported by sophisticated marketing campaigns.
Objective and transparent data are necessary to evaluate
restaurants’ progress in addressing the harmful effects of fast food
consumption on the diets of young people. Three years after our
first report – using the same methods as the original Fast Food
FACTS – this report quantifies changes in the nutritional quality of
fast food and how it is marketed to children and teens.