Mar, whose most recent high-profile legislative accomplishments put new limits on smoking and tobacco sales, isn’t planning to shelve the idea of using City Hall’s regulatory power to promote public health. He said voluntary efforts by the fast-food industry have not gone far enough to combat the costly epidemic of childhood obesity.

The toys offered with kids meals at fast-food restaurants are powerful lures for children, Mar said. Individual McDonald’s restaurants sell an average of more than 1,000 Happy Meals a week.

“As a parent, it’s not just parental choice that decides what meals to serve your children,” he said. “There’s the heavy marketing by an industry that connects food with a toy, and that can be a powerful influence. It’s the responsibility of the industry to promote healthy choices.”