This past year I learned the art of compromise through marriage. Halloween proved no exception as my new husband and I negotiated our selection of treats for children. As a nutritionist and childhood obesity researcher, I cannot in good conscience give children candy. Recent national data suggest that nearly one in five children is obese in this country.


My husband believes that not giving children candy on Halloween could lead to a number of unpleasant outcomes such as egg on our house and toilet paper in our yard. I produced a scientific article by my colleagues at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. They found that when children were given a choice, they selected toys as often as candy on Halloween.


My husband was not convinced. So last year we conducted our own less than scientific study on Halloween using one large bowl. We mixed several non-candy toys, such as Play Doh, decks of cards, plastic spider rings and bubbles, with non-candy food items such as granola bars, trail mix and fruit gummy bears. We added some candy for good measure – the more popular chocolate-based variety.