Days after the New York City Council proposed a ban on toys in restaurant kids’ meals that do not meet set nutritional standards the New York State Restaurant Association said it opposes the measure, but would work with the Council to find other avenues to stem childhood obesity.
Andrew Rigie, executive vice president of the New York City chapters of the New York State Restaurant Association, said he would like to meet with City Council members to discuss the bill.
“We’re trying to work with the council,” Rigie said. “There are more strategic ways to address childhood obesity than by banning toys from specific meals.
“Where does it end?” he continued. “The government wants to come into our lives and micromanage aspects of the way we live. We need a more strategic partnership to examine the core issue of obesity. These types of toy bans take a lot of time and energy to address, and, meanwhile, we lose focus of what should be the core mission to reduce childhood obesity and teach healthy lifestyle skills.”
The proposal, which resembles toy ban regulations adopted in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in California last year, was introduced Wednesday by City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie Jr.
A similar proposal was introduced earlier this year in California and Nebraska, where legislation was “indefinitely postponed.”
Comrie said the measure, which would force restaurants to remove toys from kids’ meals containing more than 500 calories as well as other nutritional content, said it was an attempt to battle childhood obesity.
“While I recognize that ensuring children have access to, and eat more, nutritious meals is ultimately the responsibility of their caretakers, the City Council can empower parents by making it harder for the fast-food industry to target children with predatory marketing techniques,” Comrie said in a statement.
According to the bill, a New York restaurant would only be able to offer a toy or incentive if a combination meal contained:
• Less than 500 calories
• Less than 600 milligrams of sodium
• Less than 35 percent of total calories from fat, except for fat contained in nuts, seeds, peanut butter or other nut butter
• Less that 10 percent of total calories from saturated fats, except for saturated fat contained in nuts, seeds, peanut butter or other nut butter
• Less than 10 percent of total calories from added sugars and/or caloric sweeteners
The meal also must contain one half cup of fruit or vegetables and one serving of whole-grain products.
Contact Paul Frumkin @[email protected].