The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Wednesday July 9 2008

The word "holiday" was omitted in the article below, which says that a report showed children on school outings were being offered meals with high levels of fat, salt and sugar. The report referred to outings that children go on during holidays, rather than outings organised by schools

Children on school outings are being offered meals which have "overwhelmingly" high levels of fat, salt and sugar, a report says today.

Not one of nearly 397 meals checked at 220 theme parks, wildlife parks, museums and other leisure attractions last year met fully the official guidelines for healthier food expected in schools in term time, says the Local Government Association.

The LGA says venues should offer more healthy options, cut deep-fat and fried foods, remove salt shakers and sachets and advertise free drinking water alongside soft drinks to play their part in tackling the obesity crisis threatening children.

The survey by council trading standards and environment health officers across Britain found meals offered for seven- to 10-year-olds at theme parks contained on average more fat, saturated fat, protein and salt than at other types of attractions. England's East Midlands was the worst region for exceeding limits recommended by the School Food Trust, a body set up by the government three years ago to set nutritional parameters for meals. The report does not name any of the attractions it surveyed.

Some meals sampled showed "shocking levels" of fat, salt and sugar, it says. These had 300% more fat than the 20.6 grams maximum set by the trust, 600% more saturated fat than its 6.5g limit, 500% more protein than the trust's 7.5g, and 350% more salt than the 1.25g limit. Even meals deemed healthier than other "regular" meals by council officers, or advertised as such by the attractions, failed to meet nutritional standards.

The report says: "School food has significantly changed over the last few years and it is time the hospitality industry introduced similar changes to ensure that the valuable contributions that these guidelines have made is not undermined outside schools."

Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of Lacors, the council body that coordinated the survey, says: "Britain is in very real danger of producing a generation of people whose quality of life will suffer and life expectancy will drop because of their weight.

"The diseases and ill-health that are associated with obesity will be a significant drain on taxpayers' money unless we all work to reduce the amount of fatty and salty foods that our children are eating. Every meal that contains extra salt or extra fat creates a dependence and reliance on the same kinds of foods for the rest of a child's life.

"It is vital we do not stand by and do nothing while an entire generation of children becomes addicted to unhealthy food because of lack of choice."

Merlin Entertainments, owners of theme parks such as Alton Towers, Legoland, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, said it was astonished by the report.

Gary Henderson, head of its group commercial development, said it regularly reviewed menu choices, making sure dishes were cooked well, using fresh ingredients wherever possible. "Ultimately, however, we can never forget that our responsibility is to provide a fun and enjoyable day out, and as such to allow our guests to take nutritional responsibility for their own food choices while they are with us."

On the menu

· Nearly nine in 10 meals surveyed were based on eight products: burgers, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, ham, pasta, sausages, cheese and tuna

· Nearly four in 10 so-called "regular" meals contained nuggets. Burgers, often in a bun, made up another 14%

· Pasta dishes were frequently the hot "healthy" meal with ham sandwiches the cold "healthy" option

· Of all meals, nearly three in five included potato, usually chips. Salad was in 23% of "healthy" meals Fruit -"invariably apple" - was in one in seven meals

· Bulky but relatively healthy meals included baked potatoes with tuna and salad or meatballs and pasta

The report accepts adults with children must also approve the meals, because they buy the products.