El almidón resistente es una fracción del almidón que es capaz de resistir a la digestión y se mantiene íntegro a lo largo del tracto gastrointestinal. Una de las ventajas de este almidón es que permite ser utilizado como un ingrediente que refuerza las características tecnológicas de los alimentos, además de otorgar beneficios fisiológicos asociados a la salud. De manera natural el almidón resistente podemos encontrarlo en granos de cereales, semillas, legumbres y tubérculos y en la industria alimentaria en una amplitud de productos asociados a la panificación, pastelería, galletería y cereales extruídos. Las ventajas tecnológicas de este almidón están explicadas por su microestructura, que permite obtener productos con una mejor textura, sin afectar las características de sabor, olor y color del alimento. Desde el punto vista fisiológico, el almidón resistente es capaz de modular la cinética de digestibilidad de los nutrientes, lo que posibilita su incorporación en el diseño de productos con menor índice glicémico y menor poder energético. La modulación del metabolismo de la glucosa y los lípidos, así como las posibles asociaciones con la salud de la microbiota, indican que el almidón resistente podría ser un ingrediente con un gran potencial en el tratamiento de enfermedades crónicas.

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify and characterize kids' menu offer in fast-food and traditional restaurants located in shopping centres in five different countries.Design/methodology/approachAn observational cross-sectional study is carried out, though a study was performed in all restaurants located in shopping centres from main cities, in five countries: Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Hungary and Portugal. A tool for assessing the quality of menus is used for the analysis (Kids Menu Healthy Score (KIMEHS)). Menu prices between countries were compared.FindingsA total of 192 kids' menus were collected, 44 in Portugal, 57 in Brazil, 66 in Chile, 15 in Hungary and 10 in Croatia. All the countries have average negative KIMEHS values for the menus, indicating that the offer is generally poor in terms of healthy options. The cost of children's menus in European countries is generally low. In Brazil, the price is significantly more expensive, which may limit the accessibility by social economically deprived populations. No significant differences were found in the average cost of meals from different restaurants typology. Traditional/Western restaurants present the highest price.Practical implicationsGlobally, kids' menus are composed by unhealthy food items, pointing to the need of improvements in food availability, aiming to promote healthy food habits among children.Originality/valueThis study presents innovative data on children's menus, allowing for characterization of meals offered to children and comparison between different countries.Key pointsKids’ menus are composed by unhealthy food items.Improvement of kids' menus quality will promote children food habits.Healthier out-of-home food consumption will contribute to public health.

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