The Weekly Skinny: All the healthy news you need (6-25-10)








Should McDonald's be sued for using toys to entice kids to eat Happy Meals? A consumer group thinks so. FatFighterTV has a look at this story and other diet and fitness headlines making news this week.

Consumer group threatens to sue McDonald's over Happy Meal toys

A consumer group wants McDonald's to stop using toys to promote Happy Meals to children and has threatened to sue the chain if it does not comply within 30 days. The Center for the Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says using toys to lure kids into McDonald's is unfair and deceptive marketing and is illegal under various state consumer protection laws. McDonald's called the group's charges a "misrepresentation" of its effort to sell healthier food and safe toys, according to this report from Reuters.

Cartoon characters attract kids to junk food

Junk food is causing trouble again! New research shows half of children say food from a package decorated with a cartoon celebrity, like Shrek or Dora the Explorer, tastes better than the same exact food from a plain package. The study also finds when they are given a choice, most kids pick the food from the package with the cartoon characters on it. Earlier this year, the spotlight was on junk food in movies.

Most Americans have too much salt
You may have heard that Americans have too much salt. Now, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms how bad the problem is. The CDC finds only 1 in 18 Americans meet the current guidelines of having less than a teaspoon of salt a day. Health officials say 70 percent of adults - including people with high blood pressure, all African-Americans and everyone over 40 - should have even less - no more than two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt each day.

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[photo credit: Getty Images]