Health

Happy Meals will need to become healthier meals if one city councilman gets his way.

Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos plans to introduce a bill requiring strict new health standards on fast food kids meals that offer free items like toys.

The legislation would ban fast food restaurants from including the freebies if the meals exceed 500 calories and more than 600 milligrams of sodium.

Restaurants would also be forced to include at least half a cup of fruit or vegetables, or a serving of whole-grain products in kids meals.

First-time offenders would face a fine of $200 to $500.

A third offense could cost as much as $2,500.

City officials want kids’ fast-food meals to be not just happy — but also healthy.

Councilman Ben Kallos is set to introduce a bill Thursday that would set stricter nutrition standards for kids’ meals that come with toys.

The proposed legislation would bar fast-food joints from offering free toys, coupons and other incentives with a kids’ meal if the food served contains more than 500 calories and more than 600 mg of sodium.

They want to require the meal to also contain at least half a cup of fruit, vegetables or a serving of whole-grain products.

“Throughout the fast food industry, you’re seeing that toys are being linked to meals,” said Kallos (D-Manhattan). “And as a result, we have a very high obesity rate.”