As more and more action has been taken to counteract the obesity epidemic in the United States, McDonalds has faced increasing criticism for marketing disproportionately to the black community. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 1.5 times as likely as whites to be obese.
The reason fingers get pointed at McDonalds is because of their presence on street corners slingin’ McRibs to Mickey D junkies. It appears, McDonalds may actually be caving into some of the pressure that’s been heaped upon them. Recently, McDonalds announced a sponsorship with Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas to hawk their new egg white sandwich to a younger consumer base.
To promote their new healthy alternative, Douglas promoted the sandwich during a recent media blitz in NYC's Times Square.
One sandwich doesn’t change McDonald’s business hustle, but Douglas is only 17, so you can’t fault her for trying to make some of that cheddar off of McDonalds’ cheeseburgers while she’s still relevant. Gymnasts reach their prime as athletes much quicker than their counterparts in the vast majority of sports. If you want to throw shade on Douglas for accepting McDonalds' endorsement money, then you'll have to hate on their entire roster of celebrity endorsers.
Michelle Obama tried to lightheartedly chastise Douglas after the Olympics for even eating a single McMuffin, but athletes have been getting checks from McDonalds for decades (Douglas has, thus far, kept the payout confidential). They've been a billion dollar entity since Douglas was a twinkle in her mother's eyes. Douglas isn’t going to alter that dynamic or McDonald’s menu. If you’re waiting for that to happen, you probably think Olympians actually eat Mickey D’s during training.
