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Supervisor Marr introduces ordinance to set nutritional standards for restaurant toys and incentives
Summary
Supervisor Marr introduced the "Healthy Meal Incentive" ordinance to require healthier food selections when restaurants include toys or youth-focused incentives with meals, citing CDC and Kaiser Permanente data; the measure was introduced for future consideration and no vote was taken at the meeting.
Supervisor Marr introduced an ordinance on the board floor to set nutritional standards for restaurant meals that include toys or other youth-focused incentive items.
Marr said the Healthy Meal Incentive legislation would require that meals accompanied by toys contain fruits or vegetables, limit calories to no more than 600 per meal (200 calories for a single food item) and prohibit beverages with “excessive fat or sugar.” Marr said the ordinance aims to curb childhood obesity and encouraged supervisors to support the measure.
Marr cited national public-health data during his remarks, saying the Centers for Disease Control has shown that “since the birth of the Happy Meal in 1979 … the obesity rate for children has quadrupled” for the 6-to-11 age group, and referenced a Kaiser Permanente survey reporting that “70 percent of Bay Area adults stated that being obese or overweight was a significant problem for their children.”
Marr identified co-authors Supervisor David Campos and President David Hsu and said the ordinance was drafted with assistance from Rajeev Bhatia of the Department of Public Health, Shape Up SF, and the Prevention Institute in Oakland. Marr described the measure as intended to promote healthier eating habits among children and reduce related health-care costs.
The ordinance was introduced during the supervisors’ introductions segment and was not acted on during this meeting; Marr urged colleagues to support further consideration and hearings.
The board did not vote on the ordinance at this meeting. The item remains an introduction and is expected to be referred to committee for formal consideration and any necessary amendments.
