Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Taiwan announced Friday that from July 5 it will no longer give away toys with its children's meals -- a promotional method commonly adopted by fast food chains that has been blamed for encouraging unhealthy diets among children. In line with the decision, the price of KFC's children meals will be reduced from NT$89 to NT$69, the company said. Ku Wen-chen, a senior manager with KFC's public affairs department, explained that the new policy is based mainly out of environmental concerns, because most children already have a lot of toys. 'The toys obtained from fast food restaurants very often end up in recycling bins, so we think it would be better to set a realistic price to give back to consumers,' Ku said. KFC will also donate NT$1 for each children's meal sold to World Vision Taiwan to sponsor the charity group's meal delivery services for children living in remote areas, Ku said. The decision came one month after a group of 17 legislators, led by the ruling Kuomintang's Chiang Nai-shin, signed a petition calling for a ban on toys given away with children's meals to address the increasing problem of childhood obesity. Citing the results of a survey by the Bureau of Health Promotion, Chiang said the obesity rate among the 2-18 age group in Taiwan has risen from 6 percent to 25 percent over the past 10 years. Another survey by the John Tung Foundation shows that approximately 30 percent of school children eat fast food four to five times a month, Chiang said. Asked about the issue Friday, Chao Min-su, public relations manager for Burger King in Taiwan, said her company welcomes KFC's decision. Chao also said Burger King is evaluating whether to stop giving away toys with its children's meals, although she added that even if it decides to do so, the measure will only be implemented next year at the earliest because the toys are purchased annually. McDonald's, whose Happy Meals are very popular among children in Taiwan, declined to comment. 