McDonald's Happy Meals Now Serving Up Fitness Trackers

First Posted: Aug 18, 2016 05:50 AM EDT

Childhood obesity is a real problem in the United States, and to counter the problem despite their hefty and unhealthy servings, McDonald's is trying to get more kids to exercise. The fastfood giant is now giving out a new kind of toy - instead of plastic figurines or plush toys, they have activity trackers in their happy meals.

McDonald's wants to help kids burn calories with a Happy Meal fitness tracker https://t.co/Rk14khOZjl pic.twitter.com/XpnosVjBcB

— Eater (@Eater) August 17, 2016

According to USA Today, the "step-it" trackers that will be distributed for a limited time in the US and Canada will be part of a promotional campaign aimed at getting kids to move. They come in six colors, and they have the ability to count steps and blink according to how fast or slow the person wearing the device is moving.

This is the franchise's way of pushing back against critics who say that the company has been pushing junk food to kids. Michelle Greenwald, a Columbia Business School professor and expert in the food and beverage industry said, "They are doing something wholesome, and it gets you to maybe rethink and take another look because it's surprising. In marketing today you need to surprise people and jar them in order to reframe their thinking."

McDonald's Canada senior marketing manager Michelle McIlmoyle shared with City News, "Step-it is in line with McDonald's general philosophy for Happy Meal toys, which is to make toys that encourage either physical or imagination-based play."

Mirror UK also noted that the promotion was designed to coincide with the Rio Olympics and the beginning of classes in the US. The trackers will be available in the restaurants for a month. This is not the first time that the fastfood chain embraced technology in the restaurants. For the 30^th anniversary of the Happy Meals in Sweden, they launched a meal box that turns into a VR viewer - the company called these "Happy Goggles" and turned it into something both parents and their children can use.