No More Big Macs Before Surgery

Have a hospital trip planned?  Forget about the Big Macs.  A national watchdog group is pressuring hospitals in the Broward County area to kick out all the McDonald's franchises that sit in their lobbies, according to a story at The Enquirer-Herald.

The group wants the hospitals to do it "to help curb the epidemic of diet-related disease and to stop fostering a food environment that promotes harm, not health," as John Dorschner at the Miami Herald reports.  Of the 14,000 McDonald's in the country, only 26 are in hospitals, though.

You know, physician, heal thyself?

McDonald's points out that it offers more than greasy burgers and french fries, including some salads, but the salads sometimes have more calories and fat than the burgers, if you include the croutons, bacon bits, and dressing that douses them.

Corporate Accountability International is asking fast food outlets to lead the way in helping America -- where one out of three people is overweight or obese -- evolve into a healthier place to live.

In Cleveland, where this was tried by a heart surgeon CEO, a huge groundswell of dissent caused the plan to be ditched, Dorschner writes.

In the same vein that TV commercials target kids with ads for foods and drinks high in sugar and fat content, the watchgroup organization feels removing fast food places from hospitals is another step in helping all develop better -- read healthier -- eating styles.

The group's been at it since last year, sending a letter to hospital CEOS who have McDonald's restaurants o on their premises, stating, in part, "In your role as a local health leader, you have allowed McDonald's - a corporation that has disregarded public health in the name of profits - to operate within an environment devoted to helping our children get well," according to cbsnews.com.

But in Kansas City, it worked.  "The McDonald's at the Truman Medical Centers' main campus in Kansas City, Mo., has closed, ending an epic, two-decade stint inside the hospital and making it the fifth health facility in the past few years to give the Big Mac the boot," Elana Gordon noted.

Will it work in Florida?  Stay tuned.  


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