The number of dangerously obese youngsters has tripled since 1980, and now is near 20 percent among 6- to 11-year-olds, in the prime trick-or-treating years.
The Institute for Applied Biomedicine, a California-based nonprofit, estimates the typical trick-or-treater receives more than 5,000 calories worth of candy on Halloween, the equivalent of a pound and a half of fat.
"I don't want to sound like the Grinch because I certainly love chocolate as much as the next guy," says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"Halloween should be fun for kids," Wootan says. "It only happens once a year and candy is a part of it."
But the number of Halloween celebrations to which a school-age child is exposed, at school and at home, has become extravagant, she says. And serving food is taking the easy way out.
"What about giving kids an extra recess, or reading a scary story, or making slime?"
The folks at GreenHalloween.org say they are itching for an "eek-o-friendly revolution," suggesting less-sugary treats such as raisins, pretzels, animal crackers, and mini-juice boxes; or inedible treats such as pencils, erasers, temporary tattoos, or stickers with a Halloween motif, even tiny containers of Play-Doh.
Car accidents, flammable costumes, choking hazards, and allergic reactions were always more of a threat than tainted candy, says Joel Best, a University of Delaware sociologist who jokes about being the world's leading expert on poisoned Halloween candy.
"In my own research, I have been unable to find a substantiated report of a child being killed or seriously injured by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating," says Best, whose research makes a compelling read at joelbest.net.
