Judge Robert Sweet of the U.S. District Court in New York dismissed a lawsuit against the McDonald's Corporation that accused the fast food giant of causing the obesity of two New York teens. Perhaps the plaintiff's supporters are outraged that McDonald's doesn't query customers about their caloric needs before selling them burgers and fries.
While it is true that fast foods, eaten to excess, can pack on the pounds, so can most other foods (I have doubts about lettuce and celery). It is also true that portion sizes, particularly in fast food venues, have grown over the last couple of decades. Yet consumption of excess food reveals customers' lack of knowledge about what constitutes a healthful diet, not criminal activity on the part of fast food purveyors.
For those of us who believe that educating consumers about basic nutritional values is a more productive means of stemming the American obesity tide, this dismissal is a Sweet success.
See ACSH's new booklet, The Role of Beef in the American Diet.
