Fast Food Toy Ban Does Improve Nutritional Promotion But Not Actual Menu Items, Says Study

Late last year, San Francisco banned fast food toys, in an effort to discourage children from desiring unhealthy food. The idea behind the ban was that "inclusion of an incentive item unfairly targets marketing at children who are unable to make healthy decisions for themselves," according to HuffPost San Francisco. But does the ban actually work? According to a new study in the January 2012 edition of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, the answer is "sort of."

The article, "Food Marketing to Children Through Toys," focused on fast food restaurants in Santa Clara County, Ca. The county was the first U.S. jurisdiction to pass an ordinance that prohibited the distribution of toys to children in conjunction with foods and beverages that did not meet minimum nutrition criteria (i.e. no toys with meals with more than 485 calories). In order for restaurants to comply with the ordinance, they were told to introduce more healthful menu options, reformulate current menu items or change the marketing and toy distribution practices.

The study found that there were "post-ordinance improvements" in certain areas: on-site nutritional guidance; promotion of healthy meals, beverages and side items; and toy marketing/distribution activities. However, no restaurant introduced healthier menu options nor did they reformulate any menu items to meet ordinance criteria. In other words, restaurants made no changes to the menu but started promoting the healthy items that were already in existence (only five of 120 children's meals combinations met the ordinance nutritional criteria). And the distribution of toys with unhealthful items was discontinued.

The study authors acknowledge the small sample size of the study, though the sample did including all major franchise restaurants that were affected by the toy ban. The authors believe that it may be easier for restaurants to prohibit toys than it is to revamp menus, which may require more time or a more "pervasive ordinance." Lead author Jennifer Otten remarked that before the ban parents didn't know which meals met nutritional criteria. After the law was implemented, "there was a clear decrease in toy marketing and advertising at some of the affected restaurants."

The toys may disappear, (at least in theory), but the menu remains the same as ever.

Comments

[dbrett480]

10:21 PM on 01/22/2012

So in essence, this ban did nothing but make the nanny government of San Francisco feel good about themselves.

[lijebailey]

09:10 PM on 01/04/2012

How many Chinese kids are being put of work because of this law?

[mochamanhood]

08:01 PM on 01/04/2012

there's no such thing as LAWS that can make good parents out of bad parents, and this one is particularly dumb because it assumes that kids (or adults for that matter) ONLY eat unhealthy food at fast food restaurants, and we all know that's not the case. I work in health care and we have a patient who raised 4 kids without EVER cooking a single meal.....she fed them fast and frozen food the whole time. See what I mean?

[Al Schrader]

07:26 PM on 01/04/2012

McDonald's food is not unhealthy. It's very healthy and a good deal. You can get a burger, small fries, and small shake, and get enough caloric energy to keep you going strong all day. Where some people go wrong is, they over do it. If you have one waffle for breakfast, this meal for lunch, and a piece of cantaloupe and some grapes for dinner, you'll be fine and actually save money.
But if you have sausages, eggs, biscuit and gravy for breakfast, this meal for lunch, a pork chop dinner and baked potato with chocolate cake for dessert, then you gotta problem...Alfie-

[mochamanhood]

08:17 PM on 01/04/2012

wow, you should consult a good dietician PRONTO.

[jkint3245]

06:37 PM on 01/04/2012

Nanny will NEVER know best!!!!! Ha Ha on you San Fran freako

[DelaneyRSchmitt]

05:00 PM on 01/04/2012

Nice one, nanny state! I'll bet kids eat just as many hamburgers as ever...and their parents are also serving chicken nuggets at home. But nope, it's all big, bad Burger King's fault! Those cheap plastic toys just FORCE a kid to eat french fries--and naturally, their parents haven't learned how to use the word "no"...but you're gonna make it all better with ineffective restrictions, right? At least the silver lining is that fewer of these toys will end up in the bay....

[BBLOND]

04:05 PM on 01/04/2012

how much did the liberals spend of your tax dollars studing this crap?

[seabeeutcn]

03:24 PM on 01/04/2012

Its biggest flaw is that it oversteps governments bounds, but nevermind mind that it is for your own good.

[seabeeutcn]

03:23 PM on 01/04/2012

California is such a free state.

[jstolteddybear]

03:22 PM on 01/04/2012

This is as most things that come out of the San Francisco area is so dumb it makes you look at the liberal who thought it up and go .....what the *uck?: One your just hurting the kids. Two if you really wanted to help kids? Make the streets safe for them to be out on to play outdoors. Two make them put exercise programs back in the schools. I know the Teacher Union doesnt want this because then they might have to exercise too....lol. Grab your gear and take the kids out to play outdoors instead of letting them spend all their time on these cell phones or computers. THAT is why we all are so dam fat....we sit all the time now. lolol...me included...lol

[angry mom]

03:05 PM on 01/04/2012

This is one of the stupidest laws I have ever heard of. Kids don't buy any meals, their parents do. I never got fast food for my children because of a toy, but I don't think that is the governments business. As a parent, I made sure I ordered milk instead of soda when we did eat out and we didn't eat fast food often. If a toy was included they didn't get it until they finished their meal. My very athletic, adult daughter, says it best. "Why should the government tell me I can't have something, because some people can't control them themselves."

[laurenproof12]

03:39 PM on 01/04/2012

So children that don't feed themselves should just suffer. I'm not saying this toy ban fixes anything. Are we just supposed to sit by and watch MANY parents make unhealthy choices for their children. I mean come on, there is obviously a problem and something needs to be done. Adults yes, they are making a decision, but children who don't need someone to speak up for them.

[FaceTheTruth00]

03:05 PM on 01/04/2012

I hate to say "back in my day", because I'm only in my early 30s. But, back in my day, we had fast food, and yet we were, if anything, on the perhaps a bit too skinny side. Why? Because we were active children. Running around outside; playing kickball, baseball, riding bikes and doing gymnastics.

Kids today are overweight not due to the evils of McDonalds, but because they sit on their butts -- glued to video games, or playing on their Iphones; joined at the hip with Facebook and Twitter.

Sure there are some parents who will do the fast food thing way more than they should; but that's on them, not the restaurants. No one was ever meant to eat fast food daily, or multiple times a day or week. It's not healthy and it's never pretended to be. No one in their right mind truly thinks hamburgers, fries, fried chicken and tacos, etc., are healthy. Their indulgences that are meant to be occasional.

Parents need to limit the access/reliance on fast food. Kids need to get up off their butts, unplug and live life for a change.

Fat kids with a sedentary lifestyle will lead to fat adults with the same lifestyle. Go figure.

[laurenproof12]

04:23 PM on 01/04/2012

So if its not the restaurants or the parents...who's on the child's side? Parents clearly aren't making healthy choices, by your story for YEARS, yet nothing is done. Obviously, parents who are overweight or enjoy living an unhealthy lifestyle aren't going to discpline their children to make different choice. Of course, this is a generalization and there are exceptions. At some point someone needs to step in and force these parents to bring their children up healhty.

[FaceTheTruth00]

09:16 PM on 01/06/2012

So, who do you think should step in? You want the government to tell a person how to raise their child? Should they ban all fast food restaurants because a parent makes bad choices? How about we ban all things that could be dangerous to a child? If the government is allowed to step in and tell a parent how to feed? a child, what will they step in and do next? Whether we like it or not, you don't need to be a good or responsible person in order to become a parent. You just need a lapse in birth control.

[rareearthmetals]

04:33 PM on 01/04/2012

Damn straight man, I am older than you and remember being pushed out of the house at 7 am to "enjoy" my day with no helmet on my head or pads on my knees or elbows or eye protection as I enjoyed my BB gun, bicycle, home made skateboard and firecrackers. My house even had lead pipes in it. How late do parents let their kids sleep in on the weekends, 10am, 11am or later? In my time if you stayed out late that was a self inflicted wound and did not count. TYou go to work or school unless you had a bone sticking out of you. Oh yeah I had jobs since I was 10 how many kids (under18) can say that now? I know what some of you libs are gonna say it's Bush's fault or something like that....you are selling it I ain't buying it.

[destin293]

02:58 PM on 01/04/2012

What we really need is a law banning all those 4-year-old's from walking into McDonald's and ordering Happy Meals everyday for themselves! Have you seen how long those lines are during preschool lunch hour? And good luck finding a spot to relax in the play area during that time! You'd think kids would drive themselves somewhere else for lunch, geez.

[jstolteddybear]

03:24 PM on 01/04/2012

I agree those dang four year olds.....and that dang line. Keep me from getting to my McDonalds happy meal.

[jperez6002]

04:21 PM on 01/04/2012

Yeah----And I hate it when one of those little farts get the toy I wanted!!!!!

[laurenproof12]

04:25 PM on 01/04/2012

So how do you suggest we enforce parents to feed their children better choices? I agree that problem is the parents, but I don't see that changing. I see parents that don't care, I see overweight parents who enjoy eating the way they do, I see parents that are uneducated in cooking and nutrition...so, what do we do?

[jlv327]

02:28 PM on 01/04/2012

Thought I heard chocolate milk is bad too.. Maybe if kids were told to turn off the electronics and go outside and play !!! And no, a 1/2 hr Soccer game a week doesn't count..

[listgirl3]

02:11 PM on 01/04/2012

Yeah...the reason I EVER went to McDonald's with my kids for a Happy Meal when they were young was for the toy. Screw the convenience, the treat, etc. Because McDonald's toys rake in the kids. Seriously? The only people I ever knew going to McDonald's for a toy were adults when they had those stupid Beanie Babies...lol