Wendy's has joined other top fast food chains in the U.S. such as McDonald's and Subway in pulling out its soda beverages in the menu for children, Consumerist reported.
The move is in response to calls from various parenting and health organizations urging fast food chains to adopt healthier food choices for their customers.
Although the Ohio-based restaurant is yet to release an official announcement regarding the removal of soft drinks in kids' meals, the group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported that Wendy's has complied to its request, according to Fox 31 Denver.
"We applaud Wendy's for prioritizing children's health and providing more nutritious beverage options," Fr. Michael Crosby of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) said in a statement.
"Beyond the obvious health risks for kids is the reputational risk these unhealthy drinks carry for the company," he continued. "As their investors, we are pleased to see them address this important concern."
Like the ICCR and CSPI, the parenting group MomsRising strongly believes that commercial establishments have an obligation to provide their customers, especially young ones, with healthier options.
"Ensuring that our children can make healthy choices is an important part of raising them," the group's CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner said in a statement. "When restaurants offer up sugary drinks as the default choice, it undermines those efforts."
"MomsRising and its members are delighted that Wendy's is now supporting parents in encouraging children to make healthy food choices," she added.
The various organizations argue that drinking soft drinks regularly can lead to various health problems such as tooth decay, obesity, heart disease and diabetes. They even cited a study stating that consuming one sugary beverage a day can increase a child's chances of becoming obese by 60 percent.
The reported move by Wendy's comes more than a year after McDonald's implemented the same action. In 2013, the iconic fast food joint stopped serving soft drinks with its Happy Meals.
Other establishments that joined the health campaign are Chipotle, Panera and Arby's.
