ND1209116

Title: Study: Banning Toys Doesn?t Help Nutrition

Description: The exclusion of toys with children?s meals has no impact on the nutritional quality of the food, but the fast-food restaurants are promoting better food.

Page Content:

SANTA CLARA, Calif. ? A new report has found that banning toys from fast-food children?s meals has little impact on the nutritional value of those meals, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The study took place in Santa Clara County, California, which banned the toys starting in August 2010.

Stanford scientists discovered that the fast-food restaurants have appeared to not promote children?s meals that have a lot of fat or salt. Toys are still available for a few dollars, but marketing materials relating to the meals have disappeared from store walls.

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?I was happy to see that the restaurants were taking steps in positive and meaningful directions,? said Jennifer Otten, lead author of the study. The full study can be read online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. ?They removed toy marketing posters from the doors, and the posters below the cash register at eye level for children. ?At one particular restaurant, they removed signs of the toy altogether, so if you were a parent purchasing the children's meal, you wouldn't know a toy existed.?

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San Francisco?s similar ban took effect on Dec. 1, but McDonald?s located in the city tacked on a 10-cent price to Happy Meal toys. Jack in the Box announced over the summer that it was eliminating all toys with its children?s meals.

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Santa Clara County?s ban only affected four restaurants, which had four months to comply with the new rule. ?We're not trying to come down with a heavy stick on the fast-food industry,? said Ken Yeager, the supervisor who introduced the ban. ?If these type of ordinances bring attention to the issue and apply pressure to either do less advertising directly to kids, or change their meals, then it's all for the good.?

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Meanwhile, the Sao Paulo, Brazil, government has filed McDonald?s $1.8 million for giving away Happy Meal toys, Advertising Age reports. The fine came after a nonprofit Brazilian group filed a complaint alleging that the free toys distort ?values? and promotes ?unhealthy eating habits? in kids.

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Content Subject: Marketing/Merchandising

Formatted Article Date: December 9, 2011

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