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Happy grown-ups wanted, too: McDonald's new meal has pedometer

By Dave Carpenter
The Associated Press

	LAUREN BURKE / AP Boxes of the new McDonald's adult Happy Meals, featuring salad, bottled water, pedometer and advice to walk more are displayed during a news conference yesterday in Washington, D.C. The meals will debut May 6.
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CHICAGO — Striving for a healthier image in the age of obesity, McDonald's is rolling out new Happy Meals for adults with salad, bottled water and pedometers. Coming soon for the kids, fresh fruit instead of fries.

Now it's up to the patrons of Big Macs and fries to decide how big an appetite they have for a more-healthful McDonald's, which unveiled its latest low-fat offerings yesterday as part of a new marketing blitz.

"If I want to eat healthy, I'll eat at home," said Chuck Horton, 33, as he lunched at a crowded McDonald's in Garrisonville, Va.

"I come to McDonald's for one reason: the fries. ... I think this healthy eating thing has gone too far," he said.

Horton and other fast-food lovers need not panic. The restaurant giant isn't changing the financial meat-and-potatoes of its $6 billion-a-year U.S. operation or dropping its triple-thick shakes.

A target of obesity lawsuits and a magnet for criticism that fast food is bad for you, McDonald's is simply trying to meet health issues head-on and show that it, like many of its customers, has become more diet-conscious.

Top executives announced the new campaign in Washington, where Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson applauded McDonald's for promoting balanced eating and exercise.

The new "Go Active!" adult Happy Meals will be available in all 13,600 U.S. McDonald's on May 6, accompanied by brochures offering some gentle exercise advice: Walk more. Other changes will soon follow.

McDonald's is recommending its new "Go Active!" adult Happy Meals sell for $4.99 each.

	LAUREN BURKE / AP McDonald's USA President Michael Roberts announces the "Go Active!" meals in Washington, D.C., yesterday.

"We want to help adults achieve the right balance between their daily calorie intake and physical activity, and to help children adopt active, balanced lifestyle habits early on," said Mike Roberts, president of McDonald's U.S. business.

Food-industry experts praised McDonald's but also voiced some skepticism.

Bob Goldin, an analyst for the restaurant consulting firm Technomic in Chicago, called it ironic that the world's leading purveyor of fast food, "which has a lot of calories, fat, sodium, you name it," is trying to portray itself differently.

"Their menu has inched toward healthier; it certainly hasn't leapfrogged," he said.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, credited McDonald's with taking "some small steps in the right direction" but said that's not enough.

"If McDonald's wanted to improve the public's health, in addition to providing the salads and bottled water it could stop using partially hydrogenated oils in its fries, which contain trans fats and are a powerful promoter of heart disease," he said.

"They also could lower the fat content of their burgers, use low-fat cheese, provide more baked food instead of fried food and lower the sodium content of their foods."

McDonald's promised two years ago to adopt a more healthful cooking oil for its fries, but Roberts said testing has yet to produce an appropriate replacement.

Jacobson said the McDonald's announcement "advances public relations more than it does public health."

"The company's small steps seem more designed to forestall the big steps the government should be taking to prevent obesity and heart disease," he said, adding that Thompson should push for major changes, such as requiring nutrition information on menus and ridding schools of junk food.

The introduction of adult Happy Meals is just one of related moves by McDonald's, which introduced white-meat chicken nuggets late last year and is phasing out super-sizing.

As part of the campaign, the company said it will roll out healthier choices in its Happy Meals for kids nationwide in June, such as the option to substitute apple slices and juice for fries and a soft drink.

It also will distribute brochures telling customers how to modify their McDonald's orders for lower fat, calories and carbohydrates, such as by skipping the cheese or bun. The promotion has been used at its New York-region restaurants since January.

Also new: low-fat salad dressing, a fourth variety of salad and nutrition information on Happy Meal packages starting in test markets.

Obesity and diet concerns have been forcing sweeping changes in the food and restaurant industries.

McDonald's introduced entrée salads in the United States about a year ago, helping lead to a surge in long-lagging sales.

Wendy's added entrée salads well before McDonald's, and Burger King started promoting bunless burgers in January.

Associated Press reporter Brad Foss in Washington contributed to this report.

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