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McDonald’s Happy Meal Makeover: A (Small) Step in the Right Direction

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McDonald’s announced yesterday that the Happy Meal is changing:

1. The amount of french fries will more than halve from 2.4 oz to 1.1.

2. 5 Apple slices will be added to each Happy Meal.

3. Low fat chocolate milk will be listed as an option instead of soda.

The change is being rolled out in September cross all US locations.

Additional changes to McDonald’s menu:

1. Gradual 15% sodium reduction in the next few years on non-beverage/dessert items.

2. Removal of caramel sauce from the standard Apple Dippers side, henceforth Apple Slices.

According to a company spokesperson: “We are doing what we can. We have to evolve with the times…our customers are asking us to offer more options.” Read more from the New York Times…

Nutrition experts are divided on this move. Marion Nestle, nutrition professor and one of our favorite food bloggers calls this move a sham, while Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest sees the silver lining.

Our key takeaway points:

1. McDonald’s has made a brilliant PR move that will further help build its image as a partner in the battle against obesity rather than its cause.

2. The actual changes in consumption habits by children will not be that substantial. We’d love to see how many kids actually eat those apple slices. We’re sure that percentage will be much lower than those wolfing down the fries and taking some from mom’s order. And in any case, the quality of the ingredients in chicken mcnuggets or the burgers is so poor, not to mention the nutritional value.

3. McDonald’s strategy is clear – making parents feel less guilty about feeding fast food to their children, and thus turning them into frequent customers. Right now, the average American child eats at McDonald’s 3 times a month! Moving that up to 3.5 times means billions of additional revenues.

4. While small, the change is significant on one way – it has shown that public pressure works people. The more we push, the more the food industry will listen. The more our elected officials will listen. Are you pushing hard enough for changes to your kids’ foods, and essentially, their future?

Lastly, in case you were wondering, the Happy Meal toy is staying.

What can McDonald’s do to create real change in America’s fast food paradigm?

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/DrSusan-Rubin/1372112028 DrSusan Rubin

    Its another “light cigarette” in my book. Back in the 70′s my mom switched to light cigarettes because of hype like this. She is no longer here as a result.

    Quite frankly, I’m tired of “small steps”. They are for the sole reason for “looking good”. If a building is burning, do you take small steps to the exit or do you run like Hell and get the heck out?  Run, do not walk, away from McDonalds, Coke, Pepsi and all the rest of the corporations who are healthwashing their crap!

    • http://www.weightloss-team.com Ramona

      I am so sad about your mother :(

      And yes, your comparison is actually perfect. We need to educate our kids to NOT EAT junk food. Ok, I can understand that sometimes you might have nothing prepared for a field-trip or something like this. Though you can actually go to a normal restaurant and eat a salad or a soup. But, OK, sometimes you need to go eat a pizza or a burger. But for everything that’s holy, don’t get your kids used to this junk. We’re already seeing the results :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/kenleebow Ken Leebow

    Can’t say any better than Michael Pollan: You can leave the Western diet without leaving civilization.

  • Norma

    This is laughable. By adding a very small serving of fruit (presumably treated with preservatives, yes?) to a “meal” teeming with HFCS, other forms of corn and many questionable ingredients (chocolate milk that contains just as much sugar as a soda…oh, but it has vitamin D added so let’s all feel good), McD’s snookers the great masses into a sigh of empty relief — I can feel better about serving my kids junk! And eating it myself.  As Dr. Rubin just commented, these small steps (“a gradual reduction in sodium over the next century”) are meaningless.  You either drink the Kool-Aid (pardon the bad pun) or you don’t .  Healthifying a junk meal with some chemically treated apple slices is a hollow PR stunt.

    • Gerome

      Norma, your screed shows a lack of knowledge about the history of attempts to reduce dietary sodium. It must happen slowly in prepared foods. Refer yourself back to the blog post on Campbell’s Soups’ attempt to do this. And “hollow PR stunt”? Hardly. How about meeting the demand of the market, instead?

      Now, the great thing we are witnessing is that McDonalds is confident that the “great masses” that you place so little faith in (are we a nation of idiots, really?) will not abandon them for their competitors when they shortchange Junior on his serving of fries. To the contrary, they think more people will come there than before because people want better food. No, it isn’t a healthy meal — but it’s BETTER than before. And that is because people are getting a bit smarter about what kids should eat. Kindly put down the brickbat and rejoice in a small victory.

  • http://www.awakenedwellness.com Rachel Assuncao, Health Coach

    In the interest of full disclosure, my 3-year old has been into a McDonald’s just twice in her life – both times as a bathroom break on a long car trip.  The first time she loudly asked ‘mommy, what’s this place?’ and caused the entire restaurant to stop and stare in disbelief.  The second time, on the way home from a school trip, all of the other moms were buying some sort of junky snack for their kids.  We were all out of healthy made-at-home snacks and my choice was either to let her go hungry until we got home (2 more hours – doable, but not easy) or buy something.  Yes, I know the apples aren’t organic, and I’m sure they are soaked in some sort of scary chemical laden solution so they don’t turn brown (although the ingredient list just said citric acid, which isn’t so terrible).  I bought them (without dip) and you know what happened?  As she sat on the bus with 2 of her best friends beside her, they both took one look at their own junk, a look at my daughter’s apples, and decided that it would be best to split the apples because that was the most delicious snack out of all of them.  Will every kid enjoy the apples over the cookies or the fries?  Probably not.  But some will.

    I’m a big advocate for not eating fast food at all.  And, I’m also a realist.  The reality is that millions of people choose to eat fast food every day and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.  There’s a whole lot of education, shifting of social norms, accessibility to healthy whole foods, and improving of economic status that would need to happen to change that reality.  Marketing of food products is psychological warfare and most people don’t even realize how badly they are being manipulated.  That’s got to change too.  The judgement labels that get assigned to parents as being weak, bad, lazy, etc. also need to change – when you put someone down, are you really inviting them to hear your message?  Or just shutting them down so they’ll never listen?

    Until these kinds of change happen, small steps (whether forced by public pressures or chosen by corporations) are better than no steps at all.  While their steps may take years to roll out and not actually amount to any great change, they are still steps that open room for public dialogue about why change needs to happen.  If, over the course of a few years, they were encouraged to make lots of regular small steps, over time the face of fast food could be revolutionized to providing healthy foods instead of junk food.  I take the same approach in my health coaching practice – making small and manageable changes to achieve your health goals.  It is way more effective than setting a long list of goals at the beginning and trying to do everything at once.

    It could also serve as a huge opportunity for public education – what changes are being made in the fast food industry, why they are being made, and what healthy changes people could make at home.  Hey, I can dream, right?

    • http://www.fooducate.com/blog Fooducate

      Thanks Rachel, great points

  • Dina Rose

    Obviously the changes are that big, and sure, many kids will leave the apple slices behind.  But, from a habits perspective, I think it’s a good start: getting kids used to seeing smaller portion sizes and fruit will (hopefully) make some inroad to how those children eat.
    Dina
    http://www.itsnotaboutnutrition.com

  • Karyn

    Add more veggies to the sandwiches.  I realize that this doesn’t address the problems with the burgers, chicken, and fish fillets themselves, but one thing Americans need to do is up the intake of vegetables in our diets.  When I make a sandwich at home, I use a small amount of the protein (meat, fish, cheese, or bean spread) and then enough veggies, particularly greens, to add some serious height.  Of course I also use whole wheat bread, made by a local bakery with ingredients that are all recognizable, and then there’s also the whole issue of how even the healthiest vegetables are grown and distributed.

    Maybe it’s the institution of fast food itself that’s fundamentally unhealthy, and there ain’t no fixin’ it. ;-)  But these are some steps in a better direction.

  • http://www.thelunchtray.com Bettina at The Lunch Tray

    I agree with all your points here, Fooducate.  I’d like to take a black/white stance but I think there are both positive and negative aspects of this development.  I think it’s a cynical bid for more PR and to avoid legislation, but in the end, yeah, I’m glad kids are getting fewer fries and more fruit.  (Using McD’s own numbers, I calculate this could mean 14,000 of kids’ body fat lost per year.)  My full analysis is up on The Lunch Tray today for interested readers:  http://www.thelunchtray.com/mcdonalds-improves-happy-meals-meaningful-change-or-corporate-whitewashing/

  • Mdcheney

    No matter what changes they make I still will not eat there or feed their food to my children. I remember as a kid going to McDonald’s was a treat and we had to beg to get a happy meal. My mom would feed us homemade sandwiches, chips, and fruit. I was never a heavy kid and we were forced to play outside because did not have any reason to stay indoors to play. The problem with all these kids being obese is the parents. They are lazy and they don’t want to take out the time to cook their kids healthy meals at home. On top of that they do not allow their children to play outside and just allow them to sit in front of a tv all day. Yes, the food industry needs to make more healthier fast food and processed foods but parents need to also take the initiative to get their children healthy. Whenever I have kids they will not even know what fast food is…if I don’t eat it they will not. If you notice most obese kids have obese parents..its a family issue. These parents need to stop being lazy and start setting good healthy examples for their kids. Its that simple.

  • Lisa

    If your brain and tongue is hardwired to crave salt, as it is when you’re eating these meals frequently, there is no way an apple is going to look appealing or satisfy any craving even if you have it with the Mcmeal. As Rachel said, some will — but those are likely the ones who have established healthy habits at home.

    Politics and cost of food come into play, so I also agree with not judging too harshly.

     In my case, I made the choice as a kid to go to Micky D’s for fries with my friend, but we also rode our bikes there and back and halfway to the moon before going home to a healthy meal (I think I logged more miles on that bike than in any car). I gave up processed foods soon after, and both of us are healthy, fit girls in our mid-20s. Anecdotal but only to make the point that it can work the other way: poor choices made at an early age don’t always lead to poor choices or bad health in the future. Little bit of optimism. ;)

    • Lisa

      *are hardwired, not is. what was that about brain food… deleted the first part of my message, too. Should have started with: What makes them think that a kid is going to actually EAT the apple just because it’s there?

  • http://www.weightloss-team.com Ramona

    I find this to be a HUGE MARKETING MOVE AND THAT’S IT. Come on, the producers of one of the most disgusting ‘plastic’ food are suddenly shocked to see they’ve caused an entire generation to become obese? Hmm .. too good to be truth.

    As Rachel said, the thing is to use their restaurant for bathroom priviledge and that’s it. A kid who’s not used to eating that junk, won’t miss it. As, as far as I see it, the problem is that McDonalds is still the ‘cool’ place to do, with that clown and happy meals etc. They couldn’t care less about your kids health. The apples will surely be as ‘natural’ as the paint on my car and the kids will still eat those HUGE portions they eat. So will their parents. I’m 30 and get a big fill from a happy meal. Logically, a 5 year old shouldn’t need this much food.

    I’ve stopped eating their junk years ago, just because it has no taste and nothing valuable in it. if I’m to eat some junk, I’d rather eat a gyro or a burger from the streets, than this plastic thing :D

  • Chris

    Wow – what a good post and great feedback from so many people.  Anyone who believes McD’s is doing the ‘right’ thing is misguided.  This is all about a huge corporation doing what is in their own best financial interest, period.  And that’s ok – there’s nothing wrong with capitalism.  Parents can NOT rely on fast food chains to provide a healthy meal for them or their children.  Fast food is junk food, and the best way to avoid eating junk food is to avoid fast food.
    This is a PR move aimed straight for the parents who go to McD’s a few times a week but feel guilty about taking their children there.  Now they can go for the ‘healthy’ option and rationalize it by saying ‘ I make my kids get the apples instead’.  Perfect bullseye for McD’s that will probably boost profits and reclaim some of the shrinking kid’s meal market. 
    I chose to stop eating fast food to be a better role model for my daughter.  I’d like more parents to join me.  http://www.fastfoodblues.com @fastfoodblues:twitter

    • Karyn

      “There’s nothing wrong with capitalism.”  Actually, there are shortcomings in capitalism, especially the dominated by huge corporations variety we currently have.  There are good points as well, but I think we need to recognize that having the maximization of profits for shareholders as the ultimate goal of an economy is part of the problem.  Part of the solution is to shift our economic paradigm to one which sees meeting the needs of people as the fundamental, ultimate goal of business and the economy.  An effective way of doing that must acknowledge and work with market dynamics, but not necessarily be dominated solely by those dynamics.

      • Iced T

        And how would one “shift our economic paradigm to one which sees meeting the needs of people as the fundamental, ultimate goal of the economy”? You say that this strategy must “acknowledge and work with market dynamics, but not necessarily be dominated solely by those dynamics.” What is that strategy?

        • Karyn

          To answer your first question, we change the way we think and believe.  Instead of valuing making money as the end of an economy, we value meeting people’s needs–those of all of the people engaged in a business as well as those of the community via the goods and services produced by the business.  The practical details get worked out by all of us in the process of striving to live by the principles we set as our primary goals/values.

          • Karyn

            To put it in the context of this particular discussion:  What kinds of business decisions get made about food when the primary cultural and economic value is to make as much money as possible?  vs.  What kinds of business decisions get made about food when the primary cultural and economic value is to meet people’s needs?  The latter guiding value provides incentive to produce genuinely nourishing foods; the former guiding value says, hey, as long as it makes money, there’s nothing wrong with selling crap marketed as food.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PZMQL66D4KMFT5T6FEBSWCGLRA Renee Berkeley

    Agree with Ramona. If they really wanted to do something, they would remove the toys, the clown, and the play place. Also, they would serve apples standard with any adult entree ordered at the same time as a kid’s meal.

    If you won’t eat it, why should they? You can apply that both to healthy and unhealthy foods. I’m another twenty-something that has sworn that my kids will eat junk food as often as I do… which is rarely. And they won’t have any reason to want it, except rarely.

  • Lauren

    I can’t really see why you even think a small step, wouldn’t it still get an F form fooducate’s app? Junk with apples still junk. What except fat and salt are kids getting? Unhappy meal to me.

  • http://www.drjenmorganti.com Dr. Jen

    This is a step in the right direction, but I’m not sure McDs will ever be a healthy choice. If people ate there only ocassionally, rather then daily, it would be acceptable, but unfortunately people rely on fast food for daily meals. . The solution to the obesity epidemic is whole foods based diet!

  • Gerome

    Wow….

    It’s just a PR move.
    They don’t care about your kids.
    It’s as natural as the paint on my car.
    It’s crap with apples.

    Once again the choir has spoken. Come on folks. They lowered the calories, added apples, lowfat milk and cut the portion of the fries in half, and they intend to lower the sodium. May we all take a break from the common knowledge that their food still is not good for you, and acknowledge that this meal is not a better choice that it was before? Or, fine, that it’s not as toxic, will not kill you as promptly, or whatever floats your boat.

    Whether you like it or not, McDonald’s is a thriving business, and they have no obligation to improve the nutritional quality of their food. They actually have a responsibility to their shareholders (and I’ll bet if you happen to examine your IRA or 401k, you may find that YOU are a shareholder). And when the market demands better food, they will adjust. This is an example of an adjustment to market demand.

    Congratualtions Dr. Jen, Bettina. Lone voices of reason.

    • Gerome

      Edit” “NOW a better choice than before” Sorry!

  • Nimali Fernando

    I’m a pediatrician in Fredericskburg, VA.  Here’s something I’m doing in my hometown to improve kids menus in locally-owned restaurants. I think we are doing better than McDonalds!
    http://www.doctoryum.com/2011/07/healthy-kids-menu-play-with-your-plate-foode/