Calif. County Moves to Ban Happy Meal Toys

California's Santa Clara may soon be the first place in America to ban the little toys that come with McDonald's' Happy Meals and other fast-food promotions. County officials say the move—which would outlaw free toys with any meal that has over 485 calories or high levels of salt, sugar, and fat—would go a long way towards tackling child obesity, although the proposal has met fierce opposition from the restaurant industry.

"People ask why I want to take toys out of the hands of children," the president of the county's board of supervisors tells the Los Angeles Times. "But we now know that 70% of the kids that are overweight or obese will be overweight or obese as adults. Why would we want to burden anybody with a lifetime of chronic illness?" (More childhood obesity stories.)