Yeah, yeah, the headline was kinda mean. Suck it up buttercup. Or, if you are one of those fatties, don’t suck up that double chocolate shake with whipped cream topping
The McDonald’s Happy Meal is bummed.
The decision of San Francisco city officials Tuesday to crack down on restaurant meals that include free toys unless they meet particular nutritional guidelines is — depending on whom you ask — either taking away a parents’ right to choose what to feed their children, as some msnbc.com readers have commented, or a gift to frazzled parents up against a massive marketing machine.
What it most likely isn’t, however, is a solution to the childhood obesity epidemic.
Let’s face it, Happy Meals and similar type fast food offering aren’t exactly the best of choices for anything other than now and then. Heck, I remember Dad running to McDonald’s to get me a cheeseburger, small fries, and a chocolate shake ever few Saturday’s as a treat when I was real young, when they were either hosting a party or going to one. I’m sure we all have stories like that. But, more often, we would have good food, and, here’s the kicker: we went outside and played. Mom and Dad would kick my butt outside after a few Saturday daytime monster movies (the local NYC TV stations always used to show 30’s-60’s monster movies on Saturday’s. Friggin’ awesome, dudes and dudettes!) Now, they go play computer/console games.
It’s doubtful that the Happy Meal measure will do much to reverse the tide of overweight children. There are many causes of childhood obesity, including genetic and lifestyle ones. Decreased physical activity, too many sugary beverages and increased overall calorie intake are factors.
Bingo!
In fact, ostracizing fatty meals that come with plastic promotional toys could have the unintended consequence of making the product even more appealing to kids, says Chicago-based nutritionist and msnbc.com contributor Janet Helm, R.D., who writes a blog called Nutrition Unplugged.
Oops.
