Fast Food
Fast Food Is Linked to Obesity and Other Serious Health Problems
Fast Food , 2009 Seth Stern is a staff writer at The Christian Science Monitor. Despite the fact that nutritional information about fast food is readily available, many fast food chains are taking the blame for the rise in obesity and other health problems across the nation. Some lawyers are considering the possibility that fast food chains could be held accountable for the health consequences of eating their food. The chains could also be responsible for the effects of their potentially misleading advertising, especially to children. These advertising messages can lead people to overeat, which is one of the reasons behind the obesity problem.
For decades, Caesar Barber ate hamburgers four or five times a week at his favorite fast-food restaurants, visits that didn't end even after his first heart attack. But his appetite for fast food didn't stop Mr. Barber, who is 5 foot 10 and weighs 272 pounds, from suing four chains last month, claiming they contributed to his health problems by serving fatty foods.
Legal Matters
Even the most charitable legal experts give Barber little chance of succeeding. But his suit is just the latest sign that the Big Mac may eventually rival Big Tobacco as public health enemy No. 1 in the nation's courts. Lawyers who successfully challenged cigarette manufacturers have joined with nutritionists to explore whether the producers of all those supersize fries and triple cheeseburgers can be held liable for America's bulging waistlines. Prompted by reports that the nation's obesity is getting worse, lawyers as well as nutrition, marketing, and industry economics experts will come together at a conference at Northeastern University in Boston to discuss possible legal strategies. Obesity can be linked to some 300,000 deaths and $117 billion in health care costs a year. They're looking at whether food industry marketing—particularly messages aimed at kids—may be misleading
Fast Food , 2009 Seth Stern is a staff writer at The Christian Science Monitor. Despite the fact that nutritional information about fast food is readily available, many fast food chains are taking the blame for the rise in obesity and other health problems across the nation. Some lawyers are considering the possibility that fast food chains could be held accountable for the health consequences of eating their food. The chains could also be responsible for the effects of their potentially misleading advertising, especially to children. These advertising messages can lead people to overeat, which is one of the reasons behind the obesity problem.
For decades, Caesar Barber ate hamburgers four or five times a week at his favorite fast-food restaurants, visits that didn't end even after his first heart attack. But his appetite for fast food didn't stop Mr. Barber, who is 5 foot 10 and weighs 272 pounds, from suing four chains last month, claiming they contributed to his health problems by serving fatty foods.
Legal Matters
Even the most charitable legal experts give Barber little chance of succeeding. But his suit is just the latest sign that the Big Mac may eventually rival Big Tobacco as public health enemy No. 1 in the nation's courts. Lawyers who successfully challenged cigarette manufacturers have joined with nutritionists to explore whether the producers of all those supersize fries and triple cheeseburgers can be held liable for America's bulging waistlines. Prompted by reports that the nation's obesity is getting worse, lawyers as well as nutrition, marketing, and industry economics experts will come together at a conference at Northeastern University in Boston to discuss possible legal strategies. Obesity can be linked to some 300,000 deaths and $117 billion in health care costs a year. They're looking at whether food industry marketing—particularly messages aimed at kids—may be misleading