in the united states, kids' meals have been blamed for ingraining unhealthy dietary habits in youngsters and augmenting child obesity. in 2010, santa clara county, california implemented a ban on toys accompanying kids' meals that fail nutritional standards; affected restaurants showed a 2.8- to 3.4-fold improvement in children's menu assessment scores from pre- to post-ordinance (e.g., improvements in on-site nutritional guidance; promotion of healthy meals, beverages, and side items; and toy marketing and distribution activities) with minimal changes at unaffected restaurants. san francisco county enacted the same ban, and similar ones have been proposed or considered in other cities or states across the country. research that examined the impact of the san francisco ban indicated that both affected restaurant chains responded to the ordinance by selling toys separately from children’s meals, but neither changed their menus to meet ordinance-specified nutrition criteria. conversely, legislators in arizona prohibited such restrictions, and florida state senators proposed the same.