Soft drinks and premiums with children's meals marketed on the websites of the top restaurant chains worldwide.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the frequency with which soft drinks and premiums are available with children's meals marketed on the top restaurant chains' websites worldwide.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional structured observational assessment of secondary information about top international restaurant chain children's meals.

SETTING

Websites of top restaurant chains for 193 countries and five regions of the United Nations.

PARTICIPANTS

Top restaurant chains (including McDonald's, Subway, Burger King and KFC) across 193 countries. Children's meal images and descriptions were reviewed to determine if the meal was marketed with a soft drink as a beverage option and whether the meal offered a premium.

RESULTS

Children's meals were marketed online on restaurant websites by at least one of the four chains in a total of seventy eight of the 193 countries (40·4 %). Overall, 56·3 % of countries with any online children's meal marketing by the four chains included at least one chain that marketed soft drinks and 92·3 % marketed premiums with the meal.

CONCLUSIONS

Every region in the world includes marketing of children's meals on the websites of the top restaurant chains. The high prevalence of premiums marketed online with children's meals is of concern. Similarly, with over 50 % of countries with online children's meal marketing having at least one chain that offers soft drinks as part of the meals, additional regulation and education may be warranted.