An advocacy group's threat to sue McDonald's over Happy Meal toys can further the dialogue about childhood obesity, but real change around raising healthy kids needs to start at home.The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently.

Announced its intent to bring suit against the fast-food behemoth unless McDonald's stops marketing unhealthy food to children through the inclusion of toys in Happy Meals. In a release, the group "urged McDonald's to stop undermining parents and deceiving children" with inexpensive toys like those from the latest "Shrek" film.

"While Shrek may appear on packaging for low-fat milk and Apple Dippers," the group states, "when children or parents order Happy Meals they are given French fries 93 percent of the time, and offered soda first 78 percent of the time."

Whatever numbers one uses, the bottom line is health and fitness habits need to start at home, not in line at the Golden Arches. It's no secret that a good deal of fast-food fare is fat- and calorie-laden and nutritionally deficient, and that countless experts point to eating on the go as a major contributing factor to the nation's childhood obesity epidemic.

But we also know eating out is only one piece of an incredibly complex childhood health puzzle that also includes holistic nutrition, exercise, and emotional and environmental factors. Removing a plastic ogre from your child's lunch can have at best a marginal impact.

We encourage parents to make smart choices when eating out, including when it comes to consumption of fast food and other nutritionally questionable fare. But we also urge them to take a look at their own behaviors and what's going on at home in terms of eating and exercise.

Research like a 2004 study from Harokopio University in Athens, Greece, bears out that parents matter when it comes to their children's health. That study found children with one obese parent were almost twice as likely to be overweight than children of normal-weight parents. Children with two obese parents were 2.4 times more likely to be overweight.

Studies also show children are unlikely to outgrow obesity. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 77 percent of overweight 10-year-olds became obese adults, while only 14 percent of normal-weight children grew up to be obese. These numbers are a cause for serious concern in a nation where the rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled during the past 30 years.

And while the fight for healthier kids starts at home, it truly demands a full-fledged community effort. The Greater Green Bay: Where Kids Count initiative continues to gain momentum in our area, bringing together myriad stakeholders around the goal of raising America's healthiest kids. Ultimately, it's up to consumers to speak with their wallets, allowing public pressure — rather than legal action — to dictate what we serve our children.