McDonald’s high-tech mini-gyms. Hold the fries. Pass the basketball
McDonald’s, often blamed for childhood obesity, is testing high-tech mini-gyms for kids at seven stores in California, Illinois, Colorado and Oklahoma. The gyms have gizmos for kids ages 4 to 12, from stationary bikes with kid-friendly video screens to hoops courts that electronically cheer players.
If R Gyms — named for Ronald McDonald, of course — are a hit, McDonald’s could roll out “a significant number” over the next year, says William Whitman, a McDonald’s spokesman. The mini-gyms would replace PlayPlaces — of which there are 5,500 nationwide.
Not everyone is a fan of the new R Gyms. Critics say they’re just an image-bolstering bid by Mickey D’s — or an attempt to dodge obesity lawsuits or legislation.
Parents may overestimate the benefit of R Gyms and presume kids can eat more junk food, says Kelly Brownell of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. “A kid can burn 20 calories from the exercise but take in 200 calories from a milkshake.”
The move by McDonald’s is “from a defensive position,” says Sherri Daye Scott, editor of QSR, a fast-food industry trade magazine. “This is McDonald’s trying to say: ‘See, we’re good for America.
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