Methods
To understand the potential impact of the policy, data collected for a
prior study were analyzed (similar to other work5); these data
included purchases for 422 children made by 358 adults. Data were
collected in 2013 and 2014 from multiple NYC and New Jersey
locations of three fast food restaurant chains that use toys (Burger
King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s). Adult consumers provided
researchers with receipts (including children’s meals) upon exiting
the restaurant, and completed a short survey to verify purchases and
demographics. The percentage of purchases made for children that
included a children’s combination meal (i.e., designated specifically
for children that included a main, side(s), drink, and toy) were
determined, as well as the percentage of those meals that would be
ineligible for a toy under the proposed policy. The reduction in
calories, sodium, and percentage of total calories from fat was
calculated if each of these nutrients was capped at the maximum
allowable amount. Nutritional values for all children’s combination
meals at the proposed limits were top-coded to create a hypothetical
“post-intervention” sample, and regression models for each nutrient
category were estimated, clustering at the level of the adult
purchaser, using bootstrapped samples controlling for actual versus hypothetical sample, state where the data were collected, restaurant chain, demographics, meal time, and type of food.