McDonald's to sell big drinks, skateboards

OAK BROOK, Ill., June 17 (UPI) -- Plans by McDonald's Corp. to resume sales in the United States of its 42-ounce drinks this summer is drawing fire from healthy lifestyle advocates.

Just 15 months ago McDonald's stopped offering "super-sized" portions of french fries and soft drinks in a bid to clean up its image, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

But starting July 11, Chicago-area customers who buy a Big Mac and fries will get a free, 42-ounce beverage, a company spokeswoman said. The promotion will last through the month.

"I guess their promises don't last very long, do they?" said John Banzhaf, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University and adviser to a personal injury lawyer who sued McDonald's on behalf of obese New York teenagers.

Meanwhile, McDonald's said this week it would begin selling branded skateboards and bikes this year at retailers such as Target Corp.

The aim, the company said, is "to help make fitness fun."