P2.J197: Uber-esity? An Analysis of Top Meal Deals and Their Nutritional Value on UberEats

Background: Obesity rates in children have been on the rise for several decades, with about 1 in 5 children and adolescents classified as obese between the years 2017-2020 according to the CDC. Simultaneously, food delivery apps like Uber Eats have emerged and recently exploded in popularity during the pandemic. They have since retained large user bases. The featured restaurants, promotions, and deals offered by UberEats might not encourage healthy eating. Further, UberEats has announced the release of ‘teen accounts’ , with just a few taps of a screen, children can order food directly to their doorsteps. This study sought to examine restaurants on UberEats that offer meal deals – as well as the nature and nutritional value of those meal deals – in different US states and cities.

Methods: Teen researchers set their phones to the capital building of each US state (n=49; Vermont excluded secondary to lack of deals) for food delivery on the UberEats app. Researchers then went to the “Today’s offers tab” – which provides users with discounted meal deals – and recorded the following information from the top 4 offers: (a) type of restaurant, total cost, total calories in deal, total fat in deal, and total carbs in deal. For deals with choice options, teenagers were allowed to choose which item they’d prefer. Nutritional information was either provided by the restaurant’s website or from caloriecontrol.org.

Results: The average meal deal costs $13.21, and provides 1415 total calories with 78.7 grams of fat and 128.00 grams of carbohydrates. Of the 191 meal deals included in the analysis, 162 deals came from fast food restaurants. Analysis by region revealed the West to have the most caloric average meal deal at 1717 calories for $14.57, with the Northeast having the least caloric average meal deal at 1136 calories (Table 1). The most common meal deal (97/191) was a buy one, get one free deal.

Conclusion: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ www.healthychildren.org, adolescent boys required an average 2800 calories per day while girls require an average 2200 calories per day. Further, carbohydrates should make up 50-60% approximately of a teen’s caloric intake, while fat should be no more than 30%. Based on the results of our analysis, the average top offered meal deals across the US would provide nearly half of boy’s daily caloric intake and nearly all of their recommended daily fat intake. These deals are even more concerning from a nutritional perspective for girls. Moreover, many restaurants on UberEats do not prominently or at all display calorie counts. As such, top meal deals – often through ‘buy one, get one free’ offers from fast food restaurants – encourage children to order more food at cheaper prices.