{"id":391629,"date":"2010-03-04T09:52:54","date_gmt":"2010-03-04T14:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.disinfo.com\/?p=23945"},"modified":"2010-03-04T09:52:54","modified_gmt":"2010-03-04T14:52:54","slug":"weight-watchers-endorses-mcdonalds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/391629","title":{"rendered":"Weight Watchers Endorses McDonalds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"McDonald's\"WeightwatchersHow to destroy your brand fast! As reported in the Guardian<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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McDonald\u2019s is hardly an ideal dining location for anyone struggling to stay slim. But the fast food chain scored a PR coup today when Weight Watchers agreed to endorse some of its products in New Zealand \u2013 a move met with outrage by nutritionists and obesity experts.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, which the company says is the first of its kind in the world, McDonald\u2019s will use the Weight Watchers logo on its menu boards and Weight Watchers will promote McDonald\u2019s to dieters.<\/p>\n

The link-up is the fast-food chain\u2019s latest attempt to improve its reputation by securing endorsements. In January, to the horror of gastronomes, Italy\u2019s agriculture minister, Luca Zaia, helped launch the McItaly range of burgers. For a representative of one of the world\u2019s greatest culinary nations to do such a thing was \u201ca sign of the moral bankruptcy of Silvio Berlusconi<\/a>\u2019s government<\/a>\u201d, wrote Matthew Fort in the Guardian.<\/p>\n

Several items on the fast food giant\u2019s menu \u2013 the Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets and Sweet Chilli Seared Chicken Wrap \u2013 have been approved for the Weight Watchers diet in McDonald\u2019s 150 New Zealand restaurants. Each meal is worth 6.5 points on the programme, which assigns points to food items and allows dieters to consume 18 to 40 points each day to achieve their goal weight.<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s New Zealand managing director, Mark Hawthorne, said: \u201cWe were able to include some of our most popular items because of the many changes we have made over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, the switch to a healthier canola blend cooking oil means items such as the Filet-O-Fish and Chicken McNuggets contain 60% less saturated fat than six years ago.<\/p>\n

Chris Stirk, Weight Watchers\u2019 director of business in Australia<\/a> and New Zealand, said the partnership between the companies reflected \u201cpart of our philosophy that you can enjoy life \u2026 while still achieving your weight loss goals\u201d.<\/p>\n

But nutritionists and obesity experts said the menu items were a marketing ploy to lure customers into the restaurant\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[continues in the Guardian<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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