HEALTHFast-food sellers under fire for helping supersize peopleOne of the leading anti-tobacco legal activists has set his sights on a new target, the fat-laden fast-food industry.By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. April 21, 2003. John F. Banzhaf III, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., is best known for using lawsuits to make it harder to smoke -- whether seeking bans on tobacco advertising on radio and television or tobacco use during most commercial air flights. Last year, he turned his attention to a new public health crusade: The factors making us fat. He is an adviser to the lawyers bringing several cases against fast-food companies for making their clients overweight and unhealthy. Question: How does what you have achieved with the anti-tobacco lawsuits make you think you can be successful with lawsuits against fast-food companies? Answer: The basic principle has now been vindicated and duplicated, not just against smoking but against many other problems -- everything from environmental protection to handicapped rights. Every study I've seen says that one of the two major causes of obesity is the proliferation of fast-food restaurants with their ubiquitous advertising and their giant portions. The other is less physical activity. Therefore, it seems to be only fair that fast-food companies bear their fair share of the responsibility -- including the $117 billion-a-year cost of the obesity epidemic. Q: How are food issues different from tobacco issues? A: Any amount of smoking is dangerous, but eating in moderation is not. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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