If you love McDonald's but are worried about the calories, the Chinese have a solution. Simply eat while riding a stationary bike.
Sounds absurd, we know, but as a TikToker recently revealed, but it's a real thing in China as a recent viral TikTok revealed. The video shows a woman chowing down on a burger and a soda while pedaling a stationary bike.
And not just any stationary bike, but one provided by McDonald's itself complete with the iconic "golden arches" painted on the side.
The silliness of the video has led to TikTokers naming the bikes "McFitness."
See the video below.
@cris13yu mc da China kkkk amei a ideia
If only the woman's biking were as enthusiastic as her eating--she's not likely to burn many calories this way, after all.
But it turns out the McDonald's-branded bikes aren't a fitness initiative in the first place. Rather, they're a green way to charge your phone that uses off-grid electricity produced by pedaling the bikes to charge up devices.
That might be why the woman in the TikTok is also scrolling through her phone while eating. Who among us hasn't found ourselves simultaneously in need of a snack and a charge-up?
As the company explained to Snopes:
"The bike generates electricity to power everyday devices like mobile phones and is a part of McDonald’s China’s 'Upcycle for Good' project, an initiative focused on creating products with plastic parts from recycled materials."
Two McDonald's locations across China have the bikes as part of the initiative, including the location in Shanghai where the viral TikTok was filmed.
Still, it's hard to deny that the absurdity of the imagery in the video at first blush, and TikTokers had a field day laughing and rolling their eyes at the "McFitness" of it all.
@franja_54/TikTok
@usernotfoundforyou/TikTok
@xxchelsex/TikTok
@dieseeinekurdin.45/TikTok
@ju_sung/TikTok
@emeliaklarissa/TikTok
@pengenmakansushitei/TikTok
@justfo_orfun/TikTok
@zxk_.e/TikTok
@syapnuna/TikTok
McDonald's also told Snopes that they are considering rolling out more of the charging bikes based on customer feedback. Perhaps this new virality will bring McFitness to a McDonald's near you.
@TheWhiteHouse/X
