Making unhealthy meals less happy meals

Tuesday, the board of supervisors in Santa Clara County, California, decided to take a step further in the fight against obesity: they banned toy giveaways with kids’ meals that don’t meet certain nutritional standards. (Overall calorie count and salt content chief among them.) This is the latest attempt in a series of measures taken by counties, cities and states to combat obesity, and is widely seen as specifically targeting McDonalds’ Happy Meals.

On the national stage, first lady Michelle Obama is leading the fight with an ambitious campaign against childhood obesity, announced in February.

Marc Ambinder ? formerly obese, himself, before undergoing bariatric surgery ? joins us to talk about these latest efforts and the many unsuccessful initiatives that preceded them. We also talk to Rocky Tayeh, who produced a radio story called “My Struggle with Obesity” in 2003 for Radio Rookies, a WNYC program that introduces teenagers to radio journalism.