You're Fat, Who Can You Sue?
Jan. 22 -- So we're fat — 61 percent of us. We're gluttons, supersizing our fries and indulging in whopper-sized cinnamon buns at the mall.
But obesity is not just an American image crisis — it's fast becoming our most serious public health problem. Indeed, obesity now rivals smoking in its deadliness and is linked to diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.
An estimated 300,000 Americans die each year from fat-related causes, and we spent $117 billion in obesity-related economic costs just last year, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher reported last month.
Conventional wisdom says our obesity stems from laziness, lack of willpower or a fast-paced lifestyle that prevents healthy eating and exercise. We already spend up to an estimated $50 billion a year on diet and weight loss products — are we really just not trying hard enough?
While individuals surely bear responsibility for what they eat and whether they move, some nutrition and legal experts say we may not be entirely at fault.
Some say the food industry — particularly fast food, vending machine and processed food companies — should be held accountable for playing a role in the declining health of the nation, just as the tobacco industry ultimately was forced to bear responsibility for public health costs associated with smoking in its landmark $206 billion settlement with the states.
Although no one is taking such legal action against the food industry, nutrition and legal experts say it is reasonable to think that someday, it may come to that.
"There is a movement afoot to do something about the obesity problem, not just as a visual blight but to see it in terms of costs," says John Banzhaf, a George Washington University Law School professor.
The Case for Fat Suits
Most public health experts agree that regulations or taxes would be better than legal action, but they are mindful that after years of going after Big Tobacco, anti-smoking forces only achieved success when plaintiffs and lawyers stepped in.
