Argument

Toys should be banned from kid’s meals at fast food restaurants.  

According to the Ministry of Health one in twelve children (aged 2 to 14) were obese (8.3%) in 2006/2007 now, the rate is at 10%  and a way to reduce this is by banning toys in kid’s meals.  One of the main causes for kids to desire happy meals is the joy of pulling out a toy and playing with it until their little minds find something else to entertain them.  Children do not understand that the food they are eating is actually bad for them.  Yes it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure their kids eat healthily but, unfortunately there are parents who give into their child’s demands for a happy meal too easily.  It would be great if advertising to children in the food sector could be banned but, one baby step at a time.

A main point of reference in my discussion is the banning of toys Happy Meals in San Francisco in 2010.  In November 2010 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors imposed a ban on all fast food retailers saying that they cannot provide toys in Happy Meals.  They did this in the hope that it would give parents a chance to convince their children for a healthier option.  Now, if a city of the United States of America can impose a ban on toys, why can’t we.  The U.S.A can be quite divided on issues like this.  The divide is between the Democrats and the Republicans, the Democrats being more left wing and the Republicans being more right wing.  These two extreme parties can’t agree on gun laws which in recent events has shown it is in need of reform, but they can both agree on a stance on fast food.  It’s because they know that they have a responsibility to look after their children.

New Zealand needs to look at this example and realise that this country needs to look after its children too.  Almost a quarter of New Zealanders are children which means there are around 910,000 children (15 and under).  Of those 910,000, 7 percent of them would eat fast food three or more times a week this means that every week, at least 63,700 children are eating food that is harmful to their health and is increasing their chances of getting diabetes and becoming obese.

And as statistics show one in ten (10%) of children in New Zealand are actually obese, which means 91,000 children in NZ are obese.

To measure obesity, the body mass index (known as BMI) is calculated by dividing ones weight by the square height of an individual with the equation being (kg/m2).

While totals vary, Happy Meals typically contain 500-600 calories, 20 g of fat, 5 g of saturated fat, 25 mg of cholesterol, 5 g of fiber and 15 g of protein.xi  This means that a happy meal can be at least a 3rd of a child’s recommended daily intake. 

As stated by Levine (2011), “The Happy Meal...has been a huge hit for McDonald’s - making the company one of the world’s largest toy distributors and spawning me-too offerings at most other fast-food chains.”

If there was a reduction in the consumption of happy meals, the obesity rate would drop, therefore the amount of money spent on obesity related medical issues would drop and then the tax payers money wouldn’t be wasted on an unnecessary cost.  In the latest health budget for New Zealand, 28.3 million dollars will be put towards heart and diabetes treatment and prevention and improvement of local diabetes-care programmes.  If there are 91,000 obese children in NZ, that means potentially 2% of the this budget would be spent on these children.  2% of this budget is $566,000, this is a cost that could be avoided, and a starting point would be the banning of happy meals.  This money could be spent on other things nutrition training schemes in low socio-economic areas which would not only combat obesity in general, but reduce the amount of money spent on obesity related health costs.

Children are becoming dangerously unhealthy by eating fast food, the main reason for this is the marketing by the fast food industry to the children through happy meals.  Stopping happy meals would slowly decrease the amount of obese children and also the cost of obesity related health costs.  Saving money and saving children, you couldn’t question that.

References:

http://tvnz.co.nz/budget-news/2013-health-sector-receives-biggest-chunk-spending-5439226

http://stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/Children/census-snapshot-children.aspx

Levine, D. “McDonald’s loses bid to move Happy Meal law suit.” Thomson Reuters. 20 July 2011. 

http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/health-new-zealand-children-2011-12

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Dietary-Recommendations-for-Healthy-Children_UCM_303886_Article.jsp