" Fire Ronald Mc Donald!" a rant!

I agree! There is alot more to the obesity mess than a clown with red hair. The streets and the playgrounds do hold the key. Parents would rather their children be inside doing whatever just to keep from being afraid that they might be stolen or killed.

You eat too much you get fat. In America the serving sizes alone is too much compared everywhere else in the planet.

It's all dumb. I am a single mom of 4 and yes...poor. All 4 of my girls are fit and small girls. Some of it is genetic of course but I have to think that much of it has to do with the parent's mentality. I cook at home and my girls never ate at those places a lot. They were a "treat" for us. You can put all the rules and regulations on fast food places but they won't do any good. The type of parents that would take their kids to fast food places as a regular place to eat will still find quick and unhealthy ways to feed their kids should McDonald's magically disapear. I eat right and my girls are grown and all eat healthy for the most part. If we want a greasy burger ...why not? Two of my girls work at Wendy's. One weighs 80 pounds and the other weighs 120 pounds and had a baby 4 months ago. The blame lies with the people and not the fast food places. My daughters could eat for free where they work and they choose to more than not eat whatever I'm cooking for dinner. It's a parent thing.

I say get rid of the golden arches and get a better jingle, that will fix the problem...

That is pretty ridiculous. It's not Ronald's fault that kids eat junk food. It's the parents. And is parents and school both that don't make sure kids get enough exercise. Shoot, when I was in elementary school, we started the day on the playground, then had recess at mid-morning, again after lunch and at mid-afternoon. And you know what? We had few kids who were fat and few who "had the wiggles" with all that outdoors play.

i hope they do get rid of ronald mcdonald. i only want that because i absolutely hate clowns lol. Other than that I don't get how they figure getting rid of him will stop childhood obesity. The problem is their food. They need to majorly improve on that. Also the parents need to learn to say no more often to the kids when they ask for junk food, and there kids be active atleast an hour a day.

I agree with you. I never gave a damn about the clown, even when I was a little kid. Kids are going to eat the food as long as parents buy it for them, and as long as they like the taste of it. I agree with you. Busy parents go through drive- thrus.

i really dont think that Ronald McDonald has much to do with kids being overweight, it is the parents that are at fault. really, kids are too busy as are parents with only time to grab fast food for supper. kids are left to entertain themselves and they dont go outside, they are on the computer and playing video games.

I agree and I also told my daughter that if all they do is sit in front of a video game they lose their desire to use their imagination.....and there goes the arts etc....they need to get out and play! Fresh air is good for them too!

Just read this discussion to my husband and now we are in a heated debate. We love to debate so it is nothing serious actually very normal for us. We both agree that firing Ronald McDonald is a dumb idea because it will not a difference. But he thinks they should eliminate the playplaces because this is why McDonald's is so popular with children. I think the playplace is a genius idea because at least they are burning off their calories!

It looks like there are about 550 advocate groups that want McDonald's and others in the food industry to be more responsible with their marketing to kids. Part of that responsibility would be to introduce more healthful food in their kids' meals. Dropping Ronald McDonald would be just one of the measures that they are advocating. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576329610340358394.html Kids want McDonald's food because they taste good. I do see how Ronald McDonald, the toys in the kids' meals, and the play equipment at the restaurants may have some impact but the first line of defense would be for the parents to stop patronizing the place.

Your discussion hit it right on the money! I could not of said it any better!

Ronald McDonald is an icon. He is not the reason for children being oberweight throughout the nation. /choices are the reason behind much of this. we can't blame it on one franchise or name one name to shoulder the blame. firing ronald mcDonald is no solution to this problem.

I thought that he was already fired a long time ago! I haven't seen Ronald around, in the 3 McDonald's near my place. Even the one inside Wal-Mart. So, I'm definitely sure that he's not the one attracting people to come in. This is so funny because when my kids play baseball (and Teeball for the little one), they always ask to go to McDonalds afterwards. And I don't see anything wrong with it.

Isn't that the truth? I mean, I don't watch kid tv but frankly...I haven't seen Ronald McDonald in a LONG time! Wyhen My kids were little, I saw him all the time. I go to MCd's once or twice a month, but even then..I don't see the clown hardly at all...if I even see him! Granted I am not looking like a kid would, but I am not blind either! Yes, take their hand-held games away and make them play outside, or ride bikes or something and let's see how much weight they will loose! And have more fun while loosing! No one ever mentions that tho...it is always someone else's fault their kid is over weight. They act like the clown is force feeding their kid! What a bunch of idiots!

That's so true , I couldn't agree more. What has firing Ronald got to do with all this unwanted issues. Ronald is just a garnish , a caviar not the real course menu , so to speak.

Cosmetic change is all they can come up with cause nobody wants to give up the millions of dollars they make selling the burgers and fries. And yes, I agree the parents are not going to stop using it as a convenience just cause Ronald's gone. It's not just the burgers though, have you read the labels of some of the food in the supermarket? High fructose corn syrup and MSG are making them unhealty too.

I can't agree more with you.There have to be better facilities at playground.the children have to be encouraged to participate more.When we were younger since the computer wasn't as freely available,we would automatically go to the ground and play.We could play at streets.We would cycle more.Another factor in addition to the burgers which has to be curtailed is the excess intake of aerated drinks.Recent reports seem to suggest that each of these drinks contains the equivalent of 13 spoons of sugar.

Well I love Mc Donald. I like their chicken fillet. I also know it is unhealthy, but thank God I'm not fat. I do want to be skinnier though. The thing is you are right, even if they take out Mc Donald there are still other options. Still a lot of junk food(which I do like). Our rule here at home is you can eat whatever you want but you should work out to burn the pounds your food had added to you. Like my dad buys us pizza or ice cream, but in the morning we jog for an hour or two. To sweat it out and burn it. Healthier lifestyle is the option. Stop blaming the food. It's not the fault of Mc Donald. It's OUR fault. It's our choice. So let's not point a finger here. Instead practice self control and self discipline. After all, you were not forced by Mc Donald to eat their food, right?