Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays scrap free fizzy drink refills in bid to cut childhood obesity

'Bottomless drinks': Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays are scrapping free refills on fizzy drinks
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Two major restaurant chains have scrapped free refill offers on sugary drinks as part of an attempt to reduce child obesity.

Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays have pledged to charge customers for every fizzy drink refill by March next year.

The announcement came as food charity Soil Association released its ‘Out to Lunch’ league table, with ranked 25 of the UK’s most popular restaurant chains.

Both eateries were found to be in the bottom 10, amid concerns about the number of healthy options they provide for customers.

Wetherspoon’s and Beefeater scored in the top five, with Prezzo and Nando’s in the bottom five. Burger King came last.

Wednesday marks World Obesity Day.
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Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays’ ban was backed by television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who said that “bottom drinks” amount to “all the sugar you can eat”.

It comes as new research by the Lancet, released on World Obesity Day on Wednesday, found that one in every 10 young people aged five to 19 in the UK is obese.

A number of chains are still failing to serve fresh food or healthy choices, the Soil Association's league table also showed.

The most calorific pudding on the league table was Harvester's Chocolate Cookie Pizza, a cookie topped with chocolate sauce, marshmallows, strawberries, butterscotch sauce and chocolate buttons.

It contains 721kcal - almost 50 per cent of a seven-year-old's daily requirement.

Some chains, including Carluccio's and Zizzi, charge extra for a portion of vegetables with some children's main meals, the report discovered.

Children's meals were also found to include additives linked to hyperactivity and the flavour-enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate).

Rob Percival from the Soil Association said: "Many restaurants are now prioritising child health and investing in healthier and more creative meal options.

"But there is still a national scandal unfolding in plain sight. Three quarters of UK parents say they are worried by the portion size of children's puddings when they eat out.

"We found that renegade chains are ignoring parent concerns by dishing up super-sized calorific junk, undermining national efforts to tackle childhood obesity."

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