McDonald's to stop distributing Happy Meal activity trackers


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

NEW YORK (AP) — An attempt by McDonald's to get kids moving isn't working out so great: The chain said it will no longer distribute activity trackers in its Happy Meals after reports that they might cause skin irritations.

The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said Wednesday it received limited reports of potential skin irritations that may be associated with the bands, which look like step counters. Terri Hickey, a McDonald's representative, said in an email that McDonald's is "fully investigating this issue" and that restaurants are "offering our youngest guests an alternative Happy Meal toy."

Hickey declined to provide further details.

The fitness bands, which were available in the U.S. and Canada, were seen as an odd promotion in some circles because of McDonald's reputation for serving fattening junk food. The chain has been trying to shed that image over the years, particularly with parents, in part by tweaking its Happy Meals to include fruit.

At one New York City location, the activity tracker bands, which look like watches, were available earlier Wednesday. The bag says the activity bands were made in China.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Business stories

Related topics

Business
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
    Newsletter Signup

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button