Doctor Reacts To The Lunchly Controversy
Summary
TLDRYouTube stars KSI, Logan Paul, and MrBeast launched Lunchly, a competitor to the popular kids' meal kits, Lunchables. While they claim Lunchly is a healthier alternative, critics and health experts question its nutritional value. The video dissects Lunchly's claims, comparing it to Lunchables on metrics like calories, sugar, sodium, and more. Though Lunchly makes some improvements, it still falls short of USDA nutrition standards for kids. The video emphasizes the need for more accurate health messaging and better nutritional guidance, especially for products targeting children.
Takeaways
- đœïž KSI, MrBeast, and Logan Paul have launched a new food product called Lunchly, aimed at competing with Lunchables.
- đ€ The product has faced criticism on social media, with many creators and experts weighing in on its claims of being healthier.
- âïž Lunchables, while popular, are known for their poor nutritional value, being high in sodium, saturated fat, and sugars.
- đ The claim that Lunchly is a 'healthier alternative' to Lunchables is scrutinized, as many of its nutritional comparisons seem unclear or misleading.
- đĄ One major criticism is Lunchly's decision to label 'electrolytes' without giving full sodium information, leading to concerns about marketing tactics.
- đ§ Lunchly uses real cheese instead of cheese product, which is a positive change, but the overall meal kit is still considered ultra-processed.
- đ Despite some improvements, such as lower sugar and slightly less sodium, Lunchly still doesn't meet USDA nutrition standards for children's lunches.
- đ„Ș Lunchly provides too few calories (230) compared to the USDA's recommended 625 calories per meal, forcing kids to overconsume sodium if they want enough energy.
- đš Vitamin A levels in Lunchly might be problematic for children, as overconsumption could lead to toxicity due to it being fat-soluble.
- đŹ The feedback suggests that Logan Paul, KSI, and MrBeast could benefit from consulting health professionals to ensure accurate health claims and improve the productâs nutritional value.
Q & A
What is Lunchly, and who is behind its creation?
-Lunchly is a new food product designed to compete with Lunchables, created by YouTube stars KSI, MrBeast (Jimmy), and Logan Paul.
How has Lunchly been received by the public and social media?
-Lunchly has faced criticism on social media, with many creators criticizing both the product and its creators. Logan Paul and MrBeast responded to the criticism, making headlines with their rebuttals.
What is the main claim Lunchly makes about being healthier than Lunchables?
-Lunchly claims to be a healthier alternative to Lunchables by offering better-for-you options, with comparisons made on calories, sugar, protein, and potassium.
What are some concerns regarding the health claims made by Lunchly?
-Some concerns include missing nutritional information, misleading comparisons (e.g., sodium being replaced by electrolytes), and issues with saturated fat and sodium content, which may not be significantly different from Lunchables.
How does Lunchly compare nutritionally to Lunchables in terms of sugar and calories?
-Lunchly has less sugar and fewer calories than Lunchables, mainly due to its use of the PRIME drink, which is artificially sweetened, compared to the Capri-Sun used in Lunchables.
Why is the rebranding of sodium as electrolytes considered misleading?
-Rebranding sodium as electrolytes is considered misleading because it doesnât provide a full picture of the sodium content in the meal, which is crucial for determining its overall health impact.
What concerns were raised about the inclusion of vitamins in Lunchly?
-While Lunchly includes higher amounts of vitamins A and B, there are concerns about vitamin A toxicity since it is fat-soluble and can accumulate in the body if overconsumed, especially in children.
How does Lunchly stack up against USDA nutritional guidelines for school lunches?
-Lunchly falls short of USDA standards for school lunches, as it exceeds the recommended limits for saturated fat and added sugars and contains fewer calories than the recommended 625 calories for a childâs lunch.
What key issue has been overlooked by critics of Lunchly, according to the transcript?
-A key issue that has been overlooked is the fact that Lunchly provides only 230 calories per kit, significantly less than the USDA's recommended 625 calories for school-age children, making it nutritionally insufficient.
What suggestion is made to improve the healthiness of Lunchly?
-It is suggested that Lunchly should meet USDA standards for school lunches and hire a health professional to guide the productâs development and ensure more accurate health messaging.
Outlines
đœïž Launch of Lunchly by KSI, MrBeast, and Logan Paul
KSI, MrBeast, and Logan Paul introduced a new food product, Lunchly, to compete with the popular kidsâ brand Lunchables. The product has received significant criticism from both creators and consumers, sparking headlines such as 'YouTube stars are coming for your kids' lunch.' Despite Logan Paul and MrBeast defending their product, the reception has been mixed. This video explores the claims made by Lunchly and compares it with Lunchables, particularly around nutrition and health.
đ„Ș Understanding Lunchables and Their Nutritional Drawbacks
Lunchables are popular DIY meal kits containing crackers, deli meats, cheeses, treats, and a drink, often enjoyed by children. However, these kits have long been criticized for their poor nutritional value, being high in sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. Experts have warned that regular consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like Lunchables can lead to health risks, including obesity and cancer. This issue has also been observed in clinics across the country, and publications like Consumer Reports have emphasized the need for moderation in consuming such products.
đ Comparing Lunchly to Lunchables: Healthier Alternative?
Logan Paul and his team promoted Lunchly as a 'healthier alternative' to Lunchables. However, comparisons between the two brands reveal that while Lunchly offers fewer sugars and calories, much of this is due to the PRIME drink component, which uses artificial sweeteners. There are noticeable differences in the packaging of electrolytes, particularly potassium and sodium. Some marketing choices, like emphasizing electrolytes in food products, were met with skepticism, especially when Logan Paul attacked a doctor who critiqued their claims.
đ§ Nutritional Facts: Lunchly vs. Lunchables
Lunchly has slightly less sodium and saturated fat than Lunchables, along with real cheese instead of processed cheese, which is an improvement. However, both kits still qualify as ultra-processed meals. Lunchly also has higher amounts of vitamins A and B, but this poses risks as excessive vitamin A consumption in children could lead to toxicity. While there are clear improvements, Lunchly's health claims donât entirely match up with what they market.
đ USDA Standards: Does Lunchly Meet the Bar?
Analyzing Lunchly under the USDA standards for school lunches reveals several shortcomings. While the product is marketed as healthier, it still exceeds recommended saturated fat and added sugar limits. More importantly, it falls significantly short in terms of caloric content, requiring children to eat multiple portions to meet USDA energy guidelines. This excess portion size leads to elevated sodium consumption, making Lunchly problematic when measured against essential dietary standards for kids.
đŹ Criticism and the Need for Expert Guidance
The video concludes by acknowledging that while Lunchly offers some improvements over Lunchables, its health claims are largely a marketing tactic. Many criticisms of Logan, KSI, and MrBeast are unwarranted, but a healthier lunch kit should meet USDA standards. The recommendation is for the team to consult health professionals to ensure accurate messaging. Misleading claims about health benefits, especially around 'electrolytes,' donât contribute to productive discourse about children's nutrition.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄLunchly
đĄLunchables
đĄUltra-Processed Foods (UPFs)
đĄSodium
đĄElectrolytes
đĄPRIME drink
đĄNutritional Comparisons
đĄUSDA Nutritional Standards
đĄMarketing Tactics
đĄHeavy Metal Contamination
Highlights
KSI, MrBeast, and Logan Paul teamed up to launch Lunchly, a competitor to Lunchables, with a less than stellar reception.
Creators criticized the product on social media, and Logan Paul and MrBeast responded, sparking controversy.
Lunchables have been criticized for being ultra-processed and high in sodium, saturated fats, and added sugars.
Studies show that consuming high amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can increase the risk of obesity by 50% and may be linked to cancer.
Lunchly claims to be a healthier alternative to Lunchables, but some of the marketing comparisons between the two are seen as cringeworthy.
Lunchly contains less sugar and calories compared to Lunchables, largely due to the artificial sweeteners in the PRIME drink.
Despite these benefits, Lunchly's sodium and saturated fat levels are only slightly lower than Lunchables, and both are still ultra-processed foods.
Lunchly includes more potassium than Lunchables, thanks to the PRIME drink, but it's not a significant factor in determining a healthy lunch for kids.
The kits use real cheese rather than processed cheese products, which is a small improvement in ingredient quality.
Vitamin A in Lunchly is fat-soluble, and excessive intake could lead to toxicity in children, raising concerns for overconsumption.
Lunchly's total calories fall well below USDA guidelines for a proper lunch, which suggests kids might not get enough energy from the meal.
USDA guidelines also recommend that 80% of grains should be whole grains, but Lunchly does not meet this standard.
Critics argue that Lunchly falls short of being a truly healthier option and that it should meet USDA standards for school lunches.
Logan Paul's marketing strategy, including a video showing X-ray machines to check for foreign materials, does not address concerns about heavy metal contamination.
Critics suggest that if influencers like Logan, KSI, and MrBeast want to make a healthier lunch product, they should involve health professionals to ensure the accuracy of their claims.
Transcripts
- KSI, MrBeast, and Logan Paul
have announced they were teaming up
and launching a new food product called Lunchly
to compete with the Uber-popular kids brand Lunchables
and the reception has been less than stellar.
Many creators took to social media to criticize the product,
and the creators themselves,
Logan and Jimmy were quick to push back on the critics
with their own posts
and in the process, created newsworthy headlines like-
- [Reporter] YouTube stars are coming for your kids' lunch.
It's a move that has MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI teaming up
to take on Lunchables.
- And I usually don't make videos
discussing creators products,
but in terms like healthier or better for you
get tossed around,
I feel it's important to set the record straight.
So in the spirit of avoiding personal attacks,
let's take a look at the science of Lunchly,
including a true issue with their kits.
I don't think anyone has correctly pointed out yet.
For those who may not know
Lunchables are basically these pre-packaged
do-it-yourself meal kits.
They've usually got things like crackers, deli meats,
cheeses, treats, and come with a little drink.
And since their inception,
they've been super popular with kids.
However, it's been known, especially by experts,
that while these kits are fun and tasty,
their nutritional value is just not good.
They're often too high in sodium, saturated fat,
and added sugars
and don't use healthy whole food ingredients.
And because they fall into the category
of ultra-processed foods,
they aren't healthy to consume often, period.
Studies actually show
that those consuming high amounts of UPFs
can have up to 50% higher risk of developing obesity,
and some specific UPFs are linked to increases in cancer.
I see it even in my clinic,
so many of my pediatric patients are over consuming UPFs
and it's becoming a growing problem across the country.
Consumer reports even dedicated a special feature
highlighting the problems with Lunchables
and why they shouldn't be consumed regularly
due to health risks.
My own take on Lunchables,
I don't recommend parents pack them for their kids
on a daily basis,
a low-quality food with poor nutritional value.
But now what about Lunchly,
starting with the first claim,
in the press release announcing the product,
Logan Paul was quoted as saying,
"Lunchly is a healthier alternative
and that it's a better-for-you lunch option
compared to Lunchables."
In fact, throughout the Lunchly website
and the social media promo posts,
you'll see countless comparisons being made to Lunchables.
To be honest, some of the comparisons are kind of cringe
and don't make much sense to me,
but maybe that's because I'm not the target demo.
Flavorful combos verse standard picks.
The meal kit combos are nearly identical to Lunchables.
Big gestures verse mid moments.
I certainly don't remember that lesson
in my nutrition classes.
I was more concerned
with the nutritional comparisons being made anyway,
so if someone was to make a healthy meal kit for kids,
I would find that incredibly valuable.
And in looking in the comparison,
I'd be most interested in calories, which they have,
protein, which they have, sugar, which they have,
saturated fat, which is missing,
and sodium, which is not only missing
but replaced by electrolytes,
and unlike all the other macros,
is only labeled potassium
and only in the PRIME bottle in the kit,
comparing it to the Capri-Sun in the Lunchables.
This is a pretty weird marketing choice
to label electrolytes and food products.
It's such a strange choice
that it even stunned fellow Dr. Brian Sutterer,
who tweeted-
- [Announcer] "Sodium getting rebranded as electrolytes
will be taught in marketing textbooks one day."
- And sadly was ashamed to see Logan attack
instead of starting a meaningful dialogue with the doctor.
Given that 400 milligrams
is not the amount of electrolytes in PRIME.
At least in the image that Logan shared,
400 milligrams of potassium plus 5 milligrams of sodium
equals 405 milligrams of electrolytes.
It's not about nitpicking,
it's just about being reasonable and honest
to help further the conversation.
Look, if I wanna decide if a food is right for me,
I like to be able to compare the entire electrolyte profile,
which would have to include sodium.
It's like having a PB and J sandwich label
that says what's in the sandwich,
you know, protein, fats, calories,
but then the sugar line
only tells you what's in the peanut butter
as opposed to the jelly and the entire sandwich.
I wanted to go further and do the comparisons myself
using the nutrition facts
from the Lunchables and Lunchly websites,
and it's honestly really hard
to draw perfectly clear conclusions for several reasons.
One, I don't have nutrition facts for each part of the kits.
For example, how many calories come from Feastables
versus the food component.
Second, some of the portion sizes aren't the same.
The Turkey Cracker kit from Lunchables is 82 grams
while Lunchly's is 72 grams.
Three, there are so many varieties of Lunchables
that just swapping out the flavor of Capri-Sun
cost significant differences in sugar and calorie content.
What I was able to conclude is that Lunchly has less sugar
and therefore, less calories than Lunchables
in comparable kits.
That's probably due to the drink component of the kit,
as Capri-Sun uses sugar and PRIME is artificially sweetened.
Lunchly has significantly more potassium than Lunchables
because of the PRIME drink, which I guess is good,
but not something I'd regularly use
in deciding if a food is an ideal lunch for a kit.
Lunchly has slightly less sodium and saturated fat
than comparable Lunchables.
That's definitely moving in the right direction.
However, both differences were fairly small.
Lunchly does use real cheese
as opposed to cheese product,
signaling that at least one ingredient is less processed
than in Lunchables,
but the entirety of the kit
is still considered an ultra-processed meal.
Lunchly has higher amounts of A and B vitamins,
which can be good,
but also can be problematic
as vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin
and kids can easily overconsume it, leading to toxicity.
Being that it's fat soluble
means that you can't just urinate excess out.
This has actually been raised as an issue by experts
with PRIME in general.
Despite these legitimate upgrades,
social media posts are slamming Lunchly
for not being perfect,
but Lunchly does not need to be perfect
to be valuable for kids.
It just needs to be significantly healthier
in order to reduce risk.
As a doctor, I use risk reduction all the time,
essentially taking something harmful
and replacing it with something less harmful
but still imperfect.
As an example, I would never recommend starting vaping,
but getting someone
to replace smoking cigarettes with vaping
is generally a good step down in terms of health risk.
Knowing all that,
is it fair to say that Lunchly is healthier?
I guess one can say, yes,
but honestly, probably more so as a marketing tactic.
The reason why,
well, let's look at the recently past nutrition standards
set forth by the USDA for school lunches
and see how Lunchly compares.
Going line by line here,
less than 10% of calories should come from saturated fat.
Lunchly Turkey, 23% of calories come from saturated fat.
Less than 10% of calories should come
from added sugars.
Lunchly Turkey, 10.4 comes from added sugars,
but this is where things get really interesting
and for some reason, no one has pointed this out.
You see USDA caloric guidelines say
that a lunch meal for kids K-8
should contain around 625 calories.
Kids need energy to function
and calories give them that energy.
Lunchly Turkey contains only 230 calories,
which would mean a kid would need to eat about 2.7 portions
to consume enough calories,
and if they did that,
they'd get nearly 1300 milligrams of sodium,
which is also significantly over the USDA standards,
so they'd be either undereating calories
or overeating sodium.
Finally, the grain guidelines state that 80% of lunch meals
must be whole grain,
and Lunchly Turkey does not list
any whole grain ingredients.
It's clear, Lunchly, just like Lunchables,
misses the mark too many times
to be considered meaningfully healthier,
at least in my opinion.
That being said,
I do think many criticisms pointed at Logan, KSI, and Jimmy
are unfair.
Attacking them
for trying to create a successful influencer product
isn't inherently problematic.
I just think if a company was truly interested
in creating a healthier lunch kit for kids,
the USDA standard
should be the minimum starting requirements,
otherwise, we're simply propagating the problem
even further.
One of my hopes is that in navigating the future feedback
on this company,
the guys hire a health professional
to guide them in making messaging more accurate.
I just saw someone ask about heavy metal contamination
and Logan responded with a video of an X-ray machine
checking for foreign materials.
That checks for stray objects
accidentally getting into the meals,
not heavy metal contaminations
like we discussed earlier with Lunchables and lead.
And saying, a food has more electrolytes,
therefore, it must be better or healthier, just not true.
Foods with an incredibly high sodium content and electrolyte
are not considered particularly healthy.
In fact, many are considered unhealthy for that reason.
I can't expect non-medical people to get this perfect,
but if you're gonna stand
by a children's food product being healthy,
you need to hold your messaging to a higher standard.
Eating a diet full of UPFs can lead to weight gain.
Click here to see the harsh reality of life at 800 pounds
and as always, stay happy and healthy.
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