Big guy sues Big Mac
2002-07-26 21:38
New York - An obese man in New York is suing four leading fast food chains, including McDonalds, about his weight-related health problems, hoping to win similar payouts to those made by the tobacco industry.
Caesar Barber (56) filed suite on Thursday against McDonalds,
Burger King, Wendy's and KFC, accusing them of being responsible
for his 123kg frame and a series of heart attacks.
Barber began eating fast food in the 1950s. He said the major chains had been deceptive in presenting nutritional information
about their products.
"They said '100% beef.' I thought that meant it was good
for you, Barber told reporters on Thursday.
"Those people in the advertisements don't really tell you what's in the food," he said. "It's all fat, fat and more fat. Now I'm obese."
Neal Barnard, president of the physicians committee for
responsible medicine, which promotes a vegetarian diet, said in a
statement on Friday the suit was "no doubt just the first of many
lawsuits holding the food industry at least partially to blame for America's diet-related epidemics".
'Don't say food is addictive'
The president of the national restaurant association, Steven
Anderson, however, rejected the lawsuit as frivolous.
"It is senseless, baseless and ridiculous to compare food to
anything addictive," Anderson said in a statement.
"Obviously, the lawsuit is a blatant attempt to capitalise on
the recent publicity and news stories on the growing rates of
obesity, and this type of improper litigation is a clear abuse of
our judicial system," he added.
According to government statistics, around 300 000 deaths a year in the United States can be linked to obesity.
Barber's attorney Samuel Hirsch said the fast food chains had
omitted to warn customers of the possible health risks associated
with their products, and said the case was similar to suits filed
against the tobacco industry.
- Sapa-AFP
- SAPA