Debates over if McDonald’s Happy Meals are healthy or not are always ongoing but they have now been officially declared healthy, here’s why.
When you order a meal from a fast food restaurant you don’t exactly expect it to be healthy. However, McDonald’s Happy Meals have officially been labeled just that, a healthy meal, according to the UK’s advertising watchdog.
Advertising rules in the UK restrict fast food companies from advertising their products that are high in fat, salt, or sugar, at an audience that will be more than 25% under the age of 16. This is in an attempt to crack down on childhood obesity.
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However, after a complaint was made about McDonald’s saying that they breached this rule when advertising their McDonald’s Happy Meals. The Advertising Standards Agency returned with a verdict explaining that they had not breached the rules and that the Happy Meal shown was a healthy meal.
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It might seem a bit unbelievable at first, but ultimately what McDonald’s did was only display products in the advert that are not high in fat, salt or sugar. So for example, instead of a cheeseburger, they displayed a grilled chicken wrap. Instead of a fries, they displayed fruit.
A spokesperson from the Advertising Standards Agency stated the following:
"“We noted that 80% of mains, 100% of sides and 64% of drink options available in the Happy Meal were non-HFSS products,” the watchdog said in its ruling. “We therefore considered that the Happy Meal was, overall, a non-HFSS product combination.”"
More: 5 Healthiest McDonald’s Breakfast Options
McDonald’s has been working extremely hard at revamping their menu in the UK to make it a much healthier and appealing option for parents. They have worked alongside and consulted with parents themselves on the matter and following this verdict it looks like it is going to pay off.
Now, instead of only having an unhealthy option to choose from, you have the option of being completely healthy when ordering a McDonald’s Happy Meal.
So what do you think about the McDonald’s Happy Meal ultimately being deemed as healthy? Does this verdict alter your opinion of the fast food chain? Share your thoughts by dropping a comment just below.