NZ: McDonald’s does deal with Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers has done a deal with fast food chain McDonald’s to endorse some items on its menu.
FOE’s Dr Robyn Toomath told the NZ Herald that the move would be okay if it convinced existing McDonald’s customers to pick a less-fatty food option. But it was more likely the promotion would simply attract new customers - and thus normalise the regular eating of McDonald’s.
Professor Boyd Swinburn, from the Australian Society for the Study of Obesity at Deakin University in Melbourne, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the move was a marketing ploy.
“Make no mistake, this is about selling more burgers and fries,” he said.
Australian nutritionist Rosemary Stanton agreed, telling the paper that sales of burgers and chips soared when McDonald’s Australia ushered in its Deli Choices rolls in 2004.
”It got new people through the doors, but once they were in they bought the burgers.”
Read more: NZ Herald, 3 Mar 2010
Read more: Sydney Morning Herald, 3 Mar 2010
Read more: Stuff, 3 Mar 2010
Read more: TV3 news, 3 Mar 2010