New York City plans to introduce a bill to ban toy giveaways in fast-food restaurant meals for children, Reuters reports.
Late last year San Francisco passed a similar city law banning toys sold with meals that don't meet nutrition standards, which include some McDonald's Happy Meals, despite the Mayor's initial veto.
The McDonald's Happy Meal Mighty Kids' Meal which includes a double cheeseburger, french fries, and chocolate milk totals 840 calories, 37 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,460 milligrams of sodium.
The 4 piece chicken nugget Happy Meal, small fries, and diet coke has the lowest calorie combo at 490, with 23g of Fat.
Almost 32 percent of kids ages 2-19 are overweight. Almost 17 percent are obese according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. JAMA. 2010)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese.
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the past three decades says the CDC:
- Children 2 to 5 years old, obesity increased from 5 to 12.4 percent.
- Children 6 to 11, obesity increased from 6.5 to 17 percent.
- Adolescents 12 to 19 years old, obesity increased from 5 to 17.6 percent.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, one in five children starts kindergarten overweight. High-fat, high-cholesterol foods contribute to America’s childhood obesity epidemic.
Children who live near fast-food restaurants are more likely to be obese, says the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity. (Child body mass index, obesity, and proximity to fast food restaurants. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity. Posted online on April 29, 2010)
Additional Resources:
Comments