McDonalds has announced that Happy Meals across the globe will contain 600 calories or less by the year 2022.
That means the elimination of cheeseburgers from the kid’s meal. The Happy Meal will still include hamburgers and four or six-piece Chicken McNuggets.
The standard sizes for fry containers will also be smaller in kid’s meals.
The hope is that these changes will provide more choices to consumers, simplify the ingredients, and market more responsibly, according to a statement from McDonalds President and CEO Steve Easterbrook in a press release.
"We recognize the opportunity that we have to support families as one of the most visited restaurants in the world, and remain committed to elevating our food, celebrating the joy of reading, and helping those in need through Ronald McDonald House Charities,” Easterbrook said in the release.
The American Heart Association hopes that McDonald’s competitors will follow in their steps, according to a CNN report.
The fast food giant has partnered with Healthier Generation in order to accomplish these goals.
“Under the new goals, all Happy Meal bundles advertised to children will meet McDonald's new global nutrition criteria and will continue to meet any existing local/regional advertising pledges with respect to marketing to children,” according to the release.
McDonalds will also be adding bottled water as a featured drink choice and reformulating their chocolate milk to reduce the amounts of sugar.
McDonalds holds locations globally in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, U.K., Germany, Austria, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.
