Burger King is making it just a little harder to order pop with a kids' meal in the United States ... but nothing is changing up north.
The fast food franchise has pulled soft drinks as a default option on its kids' menus in favour of milk, a spokeswoman told The Huffington Post Canada Tuesday.
But parents who still want their kids to have sugary drinks can request pop with no extra charge.
In Canada, however, nothing changes. A soft drink remains the default option on the kids' menu here, and parents who want more healthy choices can ask for items such as milk, chocolate milk, apple or orange juice instead, the spokeswoman added.
The move, which happened last month, comes amid pressure from consumer advocacy groups working to end childhood obesity.
McDonald's, for example, is working with the Alliance for a Healthy Generation, an organization that works toward systemic changes in environments such as schools and the health care system, NPR reports.
Burger King's move comes after Wendy's nixed pop from its U.S. kids' meals in January. Wendy's in Canada had already pulled soft drinks from its kids' menus years before.
Subway, McDonald's, Chipotle and Arby's have also removed pop from their kids' offerings.
However, Global News cited reports saying that, like at Burger King, customers can still request pop for their kids at Wendy's.
Burger King told CBC News that it is working to live up to nutrition standards set by the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a voluntary enterprise that promotes healthy lifestyles among kids under 12 years old.
University of Guelph professor Sylvain Charlebois told the network that companies such as Burger King and McDonald's are working hard to capitalize on the healthy tastes of certain consumers.
"They make these decisions based on what they think society expects," he said.
*With files from The Huffington Post Business.
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