Happy Meal Toy Lawsuit Is Out to Lunch
by Brett Singer (Subscribe to Brett Singer's posts) Jun 24th 2010 3:00

Will banning Happy Meal toys make kids eat healthier? Credit: Ben Stansall, AFP / Getty Images

Fighting childhood obesity is a good thing. Unfortunately, some folks are too focused on the toys in our kids' hands rather than the unhealthy food in their mouths.

Remember last month, when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to prevent restaurants from giving away toys with unhealthy meals? Someone at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) must have thought that was a great idea. The advocacy group is planning to sue McDonald's over Happy Meal toys, because it says the toys are designed to get children to use their "pester power" to convince Mom and Dad to visit the Golden Arches. Once there, kids acquire the latest cheap plastic doohickey, which comes with fattening food.

We know children can become obsessed with a plaything if they see a commercial for it over and over again. But if the folks at the CSPI believe separating Happy Meals from toys is going to keep kids out of McDonald's, they must be out to lunch.

CSPI seems like a good organization. According to its website, the group currently is working toward "accurate and honest labeling on food packages," improving food safety laws and getting junk food out of our schools.

These are laudable goals. But this threatened lawsuit against McDonald's is attacking the wrong problem.

Yes, marketing to children is excessive. But kids aren't eating the toys. Does anyone really believe children will stop wanting McDonald's french fries without the promise of a free toy? (Hasn't anyone at CSPI ever eaten those fries? They may not be healthy, but they're delicious.) And what about all of the adults scarfing down Big Macs every single day? Not all of the billions and billions of burgers the fast food giant has served over the years were eaten by grade-schoolers. A lack of toys isn't sending grownups to the salad bar.

Here's some free advice for CSPI and food advocates everywhere: Want kids to eat healthier? Focus on the food. Not the toys.

12-Year-Old Publisher's Newspaper Thrives in Illinois
by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts) Jun 22nd 2010 5:15PM

Keith Davis, 12, reporter, is on the case. Credit: Rocky Stuffelbeam, Star Courier

Despite all the talk about the death of print journalism, some newspapers continue to thrive in the 21st century.

One example is the Annawan Times in Illinois, where it helps that the publisher -- also the town's only reporter -- maintains a low overhead. Oh, and he's only 12 years old.

Keith Davis publishes the weekly newspaper for his town of 900 people, located about two hours west of Chicago. The Times doesn't make much money, but Davis tells NBC News in Chicago that he doesn't mind the lack of financial reward. Like most journalists, he's in the business for the love of it rather than money."I keep my ears and eyes open, and if I hear about something going on, I see if it's true," he tells the network. "If there are sirens going off, I try to figure out what it is."

Davis started the Annawan News when he was just 9, and it has since morphed into the Annawan Times, complete with a website and loyal advertisers.

"We don't have a paper in town, and the ones around us don't really cover a lot of local news," he tells NBC News. "I had to start it so we can have that kind of news."

The seventh grader has been recognized by his colleagues by being accepted into the Illinois Press Association.

"Our executive director said that he was doing a really good thing and wanted to make him an honorary member," David Porter, the communication and marketing director for the association, tells NBC News. "He's a great kid. A really great kid."

Davis gets all the accoutrement of membership -- including a press association card and sticker -- without having to pay dues.

"I didn't know if they would make me a member, but when they did, they gave me a bunch of stuff," Davis tells NBC News. "Press cards, notepads, pens, posters -- I didn't think I'd get all that."

Membership in the press association usually requires an examination of the newspaper to ensure the publication meets legal requirements and other criteria, such as content and length. Officials waived those rules for their youngest member.

"We didn't get to the point of examining the paper for qualifications," Porter tells NBC News. "We decided it didn't matter. As long as he's putting out legitimate news products, he should have the same privileges assigned to those credentials. We wanted to welcome him into our organization."

Davis covers a wide range of local beats. However, he's particularly big on the weather. It's hard to do up-to-the-minute weather reporting on a weekly newspaper, but Davis manages.

"I like winter stories," Davis tells NBC News. "My favorite one was about a snowstorm that happened on Christmas Day. It delayed all the holiday travels, and I got to report about it."

Davis' friends sometimes help with the paper. "They help out sometimes, but they don't enjoy it as much as I do," he tells NBC News. "So I do most of it by myself."

Do Pesticides and Allergens Cause ADHD?
By Mary Beth Sammons

In the United States alone, an estimated 4.5 million children ages 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and rates of diagnosis have risen 3 percent a year between 1997 and 2006. Yet it is unclear what is causing this increase. New research is investigating many avenues. One of them is environmental factors such as pesticides and allergens.


In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers studied 1,139 children ages 8 to 15. All of the children studied had measurable residue of pesticides commonly used on fruits and vegetables. Diet is a major source of pesticide exposure in children, according to the National Academy of Sciences, and much of this exposure comes from the common kid-friendly fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, strawberries and celery. In a 2008 government report, detectable concentrations of malathion (a pesticide commonly used in agriculture, residential landscaping and mosquito abatement) were found in 28 percent of frozen blueberry samples, 25 percent of fresh strawberry samples and 19 percent of celery samples.

In the Pediatrics study, researchers found that for every tenfold increase in the urinary concentration of pesticide residue, there was a 35 percent increase in the chance that the child would develop ADHD. The effect was seen even in kids who had a very low level of detectable, above-average pesticide residue.

Unlike other studies of pesticidal impact, this one looked at the average exposure to pesticides in the general population of children and not at a specialized group such as children who live on farms, according to lead author Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal.

Because certain pesticides leave the body after three to six days, the presence of residue shows that exposure is likely constant, Bouchard said. The study found that children with the kind of metabolites left in the body after malathion exposure were 55 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Almost universally, the study found detectable levels: The compounds turned up in the urine of 94 percent of the children. Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they're still growing and may consume more pesticide residue than adults, relative to their body weight.

More research is needed to confirm the findings, says Bouchard. But the take-home message for parents, she says, is to give kids organic produce as much as you can and to wash fresh fruits and vegetables -- organic or not -- thoroughly.

An unpublished 2008 study out of Emory University found that in children who switched to organically grown fruits and vegetables, urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to undetectable or close to undetectable levels.

Denver immunologist Dr. Isaac Melamed is studying another effect that may contribute to ADHD: the inflammation caused by all allergies including food, pollen and dust. In his unpublished study, he found that the inflammation caused by an allergic reaction may contribute to ADHD. Therefore, he says, by controlling a child's exposure to allergens, parents may be able to better control ADHD. Melamed says that although much more study needs to be done on this, in his private practice, he has controlled his patients' ADHD by limiting allergic triggers.

Remember that all of this research is in the very early stages and needs to be studied more thoroughly before it can be confirmed.