McDonald's tries to use video games as a scapegoat

I found this rather interesting.

Quote:

McDonald's UK CEO has a rather... unique take on the child obesity problem...

Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's UK chief executive admits that the food and drink industry is also to blame for child obesity, but the main culprits are videogames:

"Then there’s a lifestyle element: there’s fewer green spaces and kids are sat home playing computer games on the TV when in the past they’d have been burning off energy outside.”, says Steve Easterbrook to The Times.

Videogames are more and more successful, but then again, according to The Times, McDonalds is having its best year in two decades. Who's the main culprit? You decide.

And until Wii Fit comes out, you can always try and find a copy of the McDonald's videogame M.C. Kids for the NES.

Source

It seems everyone wants to blame everything on video games. But this is sad, I don't even understand why McDonald's is so obsessed with making people believe their food doesn't make people fat. I thought it was dumb enough that they got rid of super size to try to make themselves look better. Either you eat fast food or you don't, I don't think much anything anyone says will change people's mind about how they feel regarding McDonald's.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I agree DarkMage. The main reason kids are fat = Fat parents.

Seriously though, its funny that McDonalds feels that they continually owe an explanation to paying customers who feel bewildered and incredulous that they become monstrous sows after consuming 5 big macs, 3 fries and 2 milkshakes on a daily basis. McDonalds obviously isn't liable for eating dysfunction and it's sad they even have to offer a disclaimer to an adoring public that is all too eager to point the blame elsewhere and not inward when they can no longer see their toes/penis.

There is something pathetic about consumers blaming a restaurant for the results of an excessive eating habit but there is even more to be said about corporations who go along with this shit-slinging behavior by simply pointing the finger at someone else.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Obesity? Video games.

Violence? Video games.

Cancer? Video games.

The Crusades? Video games.

And so, the cycle continues.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I have to point out that this is just today's society. NO ONE wants to take the blame for themselves. It's all finger-pointing.

After all, its McDonald's fault that a woman's coffee was too hot, so its video game's fault that children are fat, and not the 1500 calorie meals their parents let them eat every day.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Have you seen the shitty handheld games Macca's bundle in with their slop and mush burgers? It's no wonder kids these days prefer their 'computer games' on their TVs. Also M.C Kids and Global Gladiators are awesome, I still play them everyday while rubbing McNuggets around the rim of my gigantic sweaty bellybutton.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Video games aren't to blame but what he's saying isn't too far fetched, honestly. It's kind of true. Kids spend less time playing outside and burning energy because they sit at home playing video games more than ever.

Is it the video game companies fault? No. It's the parents fault, or if you believe in responsibility it's the kids fault.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

BOO!
Videogames are, indeed, a source of obesity. But for MCDONALDS to be saying that? Geez! Hypocrisy much?
Of course, I do have to favor MCdonalds, now that I no longer work at the B.K. shithouse.

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Come on guys, if people with normal metabolisms engage in a sedentary lifestyle, they are probably going to become overweight. If these people with normal metabolisms just sit around playing video games and don't engage in any form of exercise, this will contribute to being overweight, even if their diet is normal. So a complete dismissal of this is a bit silly.

Of course, the same effect can be seen in people who just sit around watching tv. Or in people who only sit and read books for that matter. Or people who work behind a desk all day. Video games are clearly not the cause of obesity, but it can be argued that in many situations, they are a contributor. But that really has to be looked at on a case by case basis. I play a lot of video games AND my job keeps me behind a desk for most of the day, on average. If I had a "normal" metabolism, I am sure I would be at least slightly overweight, and spending much of my leisure time sitting still play video games would certainly be one of many contributing factors.

If you look at Easterbrook's quote in the quoted article, you will see that he isn't soley blame video games. He is saying that it is simply one element contributing to the problem. Of course, that source only quotes that one line, which doesn't provide full context. I would like to see the full interview before I jump to any conclusion that this guy is simply taking an opportunity to attack video games and attempt to make them a scapegoat for a problem to which his company contributes. His quote reads as though he mentioned several items, and this one item got singled out by someone looking to write a headline.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Quote:

Come on guys, if people with normal metabolisms engage in a sedentary lifestyle, they are probably going to become overweight. If these people with normal metabolisms just sit around playing video games and don't engage in any form of exercise, this will contribute to being overweight, even if their diet is normal. So a complete dismissal of this is a bit silly.

This is pretty much my problem, I don't see what the big fuss is about. Exercise and/or play is an important part of staying healthy, and I was a kid who would rather play N.A.R.C. than football.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yeah, Brady, but in your defense, NARC was pretty cool back-in-the-day =O

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ugh, the classic corporate way to save face.
I wish people would stop blaming video games for everything. The half admittal that the food and drink industry contributes to obesity is a poor mask for the immature finger-pointing. It'd be just better if they tried to be more sociably responsible themselves, instead of half-heartedly admitting and shifting the blame. Either way they're bound to have haters but that comes no matter what strategy one chooses. I guess the video game scapegoat is perceived as the easiest way out though

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

In McDonald's defense, they've really been trying to hit the health-conscious market for the past several year. Salad shakers, chicken salads, wraps, yogurt, bottled water, stuff like that. But when the burgers and fries make up the majority of their sales, they still pander to the ever-expanding waistline of the world. Quite similarly, many game companies are now trying to cash into the health circuit, with stuff like Wii Fit, Wii Sports, and any number of eye toy/motion dance and aerobics games, but when standard sit-n-play stuff still makes up the bulk of the market, kids can't help be be lethargic when they play enough of them.

The thing is, McDonalds and games are both fine if they're not taken to excess, just the same way eating and sitting every day in intervals won't magically make you fat. People need to take their weight gain to a personal level and stop playing the blame game on their own misjudgments. There's no single, end-all be-all cause for obesity, and while games and fatty foods can be a direct component, its the amount of time a person invests in either that makes a big difference.

How ya doing, buddy?

I've sat on my ass playing video games my entire life, and I'm a scrawny fucker.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Ah, the old video game scape goat. THis would be relevant....except people were getting fat from fast food BEFORE video games were around or really popular. OF course, there is now the Wii in which you get your exercise so one need only have a proper study of people playing Wii games and getting McDonald's food to see if the food is really a factor.

In truth, there is SOME reasonability to what is said here. There IS a relation to fast food and video games. Generally (but not always), when people play games, they get fast food, frozen pizza's, etc to heat up to play 'on the go'. They go together. That doesn't mean they ALWAYS go together. PRobably 95% of the time I am not eating McDonalds when I play video games although there is a good chance I might be snacking on SOMETHING. Yet that proves that it isn't due to Video Games per say, but to a person's choice. And that, no one can really blame but the person himself/herself.

Oh, and they obviously dropped the super size because they wanted to make more money. Whatever McDonalds. I don't buy your "food" anyway but it's quite obvious that what you did was for money-saving (or making) reasons.

Oh, and M.C. Kids wasn't too bad. I mean, granted, I had low expectations, probably 'E.T. 2' but hey.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by RainMan

I agree DarkMage. The main reason kids are fat = Fat parents.

Actually to be more precise, I think it's more of LAZY parenting that's making the poor kids fat than just the fact that the parents are fat. Also, uneducated parents come to mind as well.

If the parents ARE genetically prone to weight issues then they should be even more careful about eating on a healthy diet as a family. If they aren't being conscience of their family health history and are letting their kids eat more than 3 fast food meals a week for any excuse, then shame on them.

Even IF you work 18 hours a day and don't have time to prepare meals and you're too poor to eat at "healthy" restaurants, and you have to resort to eating out due to time-restraints, there are options other than McD's. Or if you must, at least make the kids eat salad in place of their fries or something.

Although IMHO, cooking at home is probably the cheapest and healthiest thing you can do for yourself. Dishing up a well-rounded, healthy meal that's satisfying, delicious and good for you can sometimes take less time than it takes for a pizza delivery. It's a shame most parents out there think they don't have the time to do it or they don't know how; once you get the hang of it, it's the best damn thing you can do for yourself (and your family) and really not that hard to do. :S

FELIPE NO

I'm going to agree with shorty 100%. You can have "healthy" and lazy parents who have obese kids and obese parents who raise healthy children. Granted I'm sure somebody has done a study on this, but I wouldn't blame an obese parent for being obese because one day they're "for certain" going to have obese kids. Very hasty judgment.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yeah, I say if anyone younger than a teenager is obese, it's the parents' fault for not installing a healthy lifestyle into the child's life at an early stage.

I cringe for the 5-year olds and toddlers I see at the malls or some stores from time to time, obviously way too over-weight for their age. I mean, I get it that it can't be helped to a certain degree when it's in their genes, but for god sakes if they're walking around the mall and the kid's holding a foot-long hot dog with a pound of butter and mayonnaise on it, it's OBVIOUSLY the parents doing that to the kid, right?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Xardion

I've sat on my ass playing video games my entire life, and I'm a scrawny fucker.

Same.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

He's right tho, video games and excessive computer usage are a big factor in obesity, IF (and thats a big fucking IF) you combine then with large ammounts of unhealthy food, but that doesn't really matter if it comes from MC'D's or the Joe's near your house.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.