News and Opinion

There are stories relating to obesity breaking around the world every day.  The stories below are those where journalists haver sought NOF opnion/quotes or summaries of research on which NOF may have a view.  Where possible the source of the stories are identified by the newspaper banner or a URL in red.

NOF Opinion will always be identified in italics.

Fruit with every child's Happy Meal

Daily Mail

McDonalds is to add a slice of fruit [apple] or vegetable [carrot] - and cut the size of a portion of chips - when a Happy Meal is purchased in the USA from next April.  It pledges ultimately to reduce sugars, saturated fats and calories [20%] by 2020 and sodium content [15%] by 2015.  The reformulation has won the approval of America's First Lady. Michaelle Obama.

This is a step in the right direction and NOF is banking on McDonald's [UK] to do the same to here. This kind of voluntary action is OK up to a point but the House of Lords Science & Technology Select Committee believes that it will not be enough to tackle obesity on its own.  Carrots, maybe, to-day: sticks, probably, to-morrow.