to let DS have a McDonald's each week?

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DS is a swimmer and swims with a squad that's 45 mins away. He starts training at 6:30 and comes out at 8 (pm btw) and it's very convenient for this day. He is healthy and slim and on all the other days has a good, balanced diet.

Is this seriously so bad?

nakedscientist you're right, I don't! But if I called myself a fully-clothed accountant, and then went around quoting formulae, people might reasonably assume that's what I did for a living.

Absolutely fine given the calories he will be expending especially If it is meal rather than a snack. He will just need to watch what he eats when he stops all the exercise!

EVERY week? No, that's a lot! Just better to keep them away from it full stop in my opinion.

Just better to keep them away from it full stop in my opinion.

Why? What's so awful about it that not ever going is best?

I've just had a great chuckle at the French poster who had her nose in the air about McDonalds and how it is derided in France.....France is McDonald's biggest market after the US . Also fast food makes us 54% of food sales in France.

It is food. Not great to have it be the principal source of your diet, but even once a week in a normal, balanced diet - perfectly fine.

My children have the probably-one-a-week burger meal, but they also are taken to Michelin starred restaurants, vegan restaurants, and (the vast majority of the time), my balanced home cooking which means loads of fresh veg. They are active, healthy and happy and have been brought up without having saintly foods and devil foods. There are no bad foods, just bad diets and one a week McDonalds does not mean a bad diet.

I've just had a great chuckle at the French poster who had her nose in the air about McDonalds and how it is derided in France.....France is McDonald's biggest market after the US grin. Also fast food makes us 54% of food sales in France.

This is the crux of it, IMO. All these OMG your poor DS, why would you do that to him? type posts make me think that people are hiding something. It's a hamburger, not admitting to participating in drug-fuelled orgies on the weekend.

What sort of loola "looks shocked" on hearing that someone has taken their (as in, their own) child to McDonalds? Seriously; go, don't go, whatever... but keep the playacting to yourselves, please.
Shocked, indeed. If it was to the local for a couple of pints, maybe.

Why not! Everything in moderation hes worked hard let him have his treat x

WelI Gast I didn't quote "formulae" and I'm guessing we don't have scoobydo posting on here either. . I just read studies.
We do have a problem with diet causing disease in this country which is a fact and I think normalising junk food is part of the reason. Think smoking or no seat belts 30ish years ago

Why no one seems bothered about the ethical and environmental impact either is beyond me. Miserable tethered animals being pumped with God knows what so we can enjoy cheap meat. That's my issue, really - I don't buy or eat cheap meat and I don't want my DS to consume it either. I also don't know why people are so pleased with the fact that the nuggets are made with 100% breast meat - it's still questionable quality, cheap as can be.

(The chips are also rubbish, but fine if you love trans fats: www.thedailymeal.com/eat/why-do-mcdonald-s-fries-have-nearly-20-ingredients).

We all need to eat less meat - that's a fact. If I want to 'treat' my little one, we will probably go to somewhere like Franco Manca for a pizza as the quality is good even if I know it's mainly bread. I don't know why people are being shamed on here for not feeding their children fast food shit. It doesn't mean they will be obese later, and nor will they raid the 'party table' any time soon. You can eat proper burgers, cakes and pizzas in moderation, made properly, but don't burden your kids with this kind of crap diet. As rightly stated earlier, we are at the start of an obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country. People need to understand what a 'treat' is and what is very, very nasty.

cleocat55 For a start, that link you posted a) doesn't work and b) is about US McDonald's fries, which are different to UK McDonald's fries and is therefore not applicable to this thread.

Also, it's not "cheap meat". It's exceptionally high quality and a lot higher than you find in a lot of average restaurants, because they have the money and the market share to be able to choose the best.

Of course it's cheap! That's how they make a profit!

I work there. I know it's not cheap meat.

Feel free to think what you wish, though.

But if you look at how much organic, free range meat costs it IS cheaper that is its appeal. Surely you will agree iMcD is at the budget range of the restaurant market?
If it's so fine to eat this stuff why are we on the brink of a diet related health crisis that is disproportionately affecting the worse off?

Just because it's at the budget end in terms of price it doesn't mean it is in terms of high quality meat.

Everything is fine in moderation. It's when people are unable to properly moderate their eating (and this quite often occurs from being banned from eating sweets, sugar, chocolate etc.) that there becomes a problem.

So we are now at over 40% of the UK population being obese because people were banned from eating sweets? Where is the evidence for this? The (published) evidence points to increased availability of cheap food, high in fat and sugar. Training our kids that this food is a treat is going to make the situation worse. So it seems wise to rethink what has become normal and make a new, healthier normal.

I said "quite often", not "every case". There is no need to make things up to try to suit your case. If it has merit, it will stand up without you twisting what other people say.

I think it's great to think of food like McDonalds (and crisps, and chocolate, and ready meals) as a treat. Treat means infrequent, not daily, not eaten thoughtlessly imo. I as a parent can't fight the marketing power of McDonalds and Kraft, but I can try to re-frame these from "must give in" to "only once a week/month/after sports/".

It's not "my case" I wish it wasn't true but the facts are there. We are facing, in this country, a health crisis which has been attributed to eating high fat, high sugar food provided at low cost by fast food outlets and supermarkets, in pursuit of profit.

Then you don't need to twist my words, do you?

Hi I worked at McDonald's when I was 16 & the stuff was dripping in salt back then. It definitely tastes a lot less salty now (the fries) & when I was working there there was a huge backlash against McDonald's and I remember the people outside rammed the door with a huge bench that was outside because of it. Since then McDonald's has had a huge focus in its advertising on where the ingredients come from . This was about 15 years ago. I'm 31.

topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-inc/
Trailer for film set in the US, however very informative about food industry and exposes the reality of mass chicken farming (with under cover footage). Due to demand for breast meat (for nuggets) chickens are top heavy so legs snap under weight, chickens never see daylight, kept cramped alongside dead birds.
Packaging for 'happy meal' excessive, waste from plastic toys a global ecological nightmare.
On the other hand it's cheap, we live in a very divided country where not everyone can afford to eat in Michelin starred restaurants.

So I don't know if you are being unreasonable, but if you can afford healthier, more ethical food 'treats' instead, do that

I think this is a case of 2 diametrically opposed opinions and you're never going to agree. At the end of the day, OP, it's your responsibility to make sure your son has a balanced diet. Going to McDonalds once a week after swimming won't hurt him, as long as he has a balanced diet the rest of the week. As I said, I wouldn't personally allow it every week, but every other week would be fine with me.

McDonald's chicken is low grade stuff imported from Brazil. It's right down there in quality terms. It may be breast, but it's breast from god awful beasts kept in terrible conditions. You want to eat that, up to you. I wouldn't touch the stuff.

I believe the beef is better quality. They certainly do enough shouting about it.

I'd love some evidence about this 'exceptionally high quality' meat. Clearly I've been wasting my money on organic and free range meat all these years when I could have been getting an absolute steal at McDonalds. Where do I sign up to this amazing food revolution?