In 2012, San Francisco children will not be getting a toy with their fast food Happy Meals. The San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted to ban McDonald’s and all fast food restaurants from making kids a little "too happy" with free toy with meals that are deemed to be too full of calories, fat, and sodium.

I've been reading all the news about this subject and am amazed at how much of an uproar this has caused.  AMERICA - LOOK AROUND!  WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

Childhood obesity has more than TRIPLED in the past 30 years.  For God's sake, shouldn't this should be a HUGE (no pun intended) wakeup call for parents?  According to the CDC, Obese kids are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Obese kids are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem. They are more likely  to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.

Fast food isn't the only reason for this dramatic increase, but it is surely a huge contributor and what American parent can argue with this?  There is a fast food restaurant on every corner and these restaurants who market to children in order to get them "hooked" as a lifelong "client" should NOT be allowed to have free reign on our future.  We no longer allow our tobacco companies to market to our children, but we sure do allow this crap to continue and yell "LIBERAL!" to anyone who wants to change it.  I guess the "marketing" is another future law (hopefully) but at least forcing these places to monitor the fat content is a great step in the right direction.

I say BRAVO SAN FRANCISCO and I sure hope the rest of the country starts to wake up and give our kids a chance at health and fitness.