McDonald's characters a menace to society?

Ronald McDonald is sure to grimace when he finds out the latest plan by governments across the Atlantic.

The clown of renown, along with other animated characters like Kellogg's Tony the Tiger, could be banned from television in Britain and the European Union, as cartoon food hawkers are now regarded as a threat to society.

At issue is the expanding waistlines of children, and health authorities are looking to trim the amount of junk-food advertising to kids.

The European Commission says urgent action is needed to battle widespread obesity, and it's pressing food companies to take voluntary steps to halt the promotion of foods loaded with sugar, fat and salt to young people.

"I would like to see the industry not advertising directly to children," European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told the London Times. "The signs from the industry are encouraging, positive. But if this doesn't produce satisfactory results, we will proceed to legislation."

Any new law would focus on commercials aimed at children, especially those using animated characters like those from McDonald's.

A possible alternative to a complete ban is placing limits on advertising, such as allowing them only late at night, presumably when kids would be sleeping.

The commission's warning comes in the wake of growing obesity among European children. One in four kids on the continent is reportedly overweight, with a third of Italian and Greek children carrying too many pounds.

"The idea is that children are protected from direct marketing and advertising convincing them and inducing them to consume too much of this product," Kyprianou said.

U.S. food giant Kraft has already announced it's stopping advertising to children under the age of 12.

Among the critics of the proposal is Chris Heaton-Harris, a member of the European Parliament who told the Times the commission was pushing the idea to win friends among Europe's populace before the vote on the constitution.

"The EU is trying to make itself more relevant. It is picking issues where it can get good news stories," Heaton-Harris said.