# Obesity lawsuit -- a real casus belly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 16, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092 "2003-01-16T23:24:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/21 "2003-01-17T19:32:54Z")
Ok, just to play devil’s advocate here. If you are visibly drunk, a bar has a legal duty to not sell you any (more) drinks. If you are visibly obese, maybe mcdonalds should have a legal duty to not serve you a big mac, fries, ice cream, and a shake (what this fat kid eats several times a day). “sorry, but you’re too obese, go lose some weight and then come back.” I think that’s what all fast food places should have to say. They freely served these fat kids, so they are liable. ---
**Author:** ![Virgowitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9fc348/32.png) [@Virgowitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgowitch)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/22 "2003-01-17T19:40:58Z")
“It’s time for you to start seriously considering salads.”~Tony Soprano * * * Cartman: “I’m not fat, I’m just big boned!” Stan: “Then you must have a really HUGE bone in your ASS!” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/23 "2003-01-17T22:19:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalt \* > \*\*Ok, just to play devil’s advocate here. If you are visibly drunk, a bar has a legal duty to not sell you any (more) drinks. If you are visibly obese, maybe mcdonalds should have a legal duty to not serve you a big mac, fries, ice cream, and a shake (what this fat kid eats several times a day). > > “sorry, but you’re too obese, go lose some weight and then come back.” I think that’s what all fast food places should have to say. They freely served these fat kids, so they are liable. \*\* It’s against the law to drive drunk. Is it against the law to drive fat? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/24 "2003-01-17T22:25:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > **The analogy to liquor liability is funny. However, those ideas it once sounded funny when applied to drinking. Now liquor provider’s liability is accepted law – both liability to the drinker and liability to someone the drunk person harms.** The analogy to liquor liability isn’t quite airtight. Drunk people are a) temporarily impaired (“I’ll wake up sober, but you’ll still be fat.”); and b) more likely to do stupid shit because of their condition than a fat person is. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/25 "2003-01-17T23:35:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*That’s what they said about the lawsuits against gun manufacturers, when they were sued for the damage caused by criminals who stole their products and used them illegally… \*\* However, most of those have been thrown out of court. It still hurts the gun makers, who have to hire lawyers to defend themselves from this insanity. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/26 "2003-01-18T00:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*The analogy to liquor liability isn’t quite airtight. Drunk people are a) temporarily impaired (“I’ll wake up sober, but you’ll still be fat.”); and b) more likely to do stupid shit because of their condition than a fat person is. \*\* This is true. OTOH the plalintiff can make a case that McDonald’s encouraged obesity by having ads and displays promoting fattening food and “supersize” portions, and by using recipes that were especially fattening. If the plaintiff can find any McD’s literature that was in error, they might have a leg up. Also, the victims are children… ---
**Author:** ![Virgowitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9fc348/32.png) [@Virgowitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgowitch)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/27 "2003-01-18T00:16:35Z")
This reminds me of the debate on whether corpulent airline passengers should but two tickets if they are going to be smothering the passengers on either side of them. ---
**Author:** ![Kalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/28 "2003-01-18T01:09:08Z")
lib: the bar can always call a taxi for them. it is against the law to drive drunk as well as serve liquor to a visibly drunk person (whether they drove or not). It’s to save their liver. Likewise, if they’re obese, they shouldn’t be served fattening food. Sure, they can always go get it themselves at the grocery store - ditto with bottles of liquor. Also, one could argue that a hungry obese person standing in line at a fast food place is not in a proper state of mind, i.e. “temporarily impaired.” ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/29 "2003-01-18T01:51:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalt \* > \*\*Also, one could argue that a hungry obese person standing in line at a fast food place is not in a proper state of mind, i.e. “temporarily impaired.” \*\* In what way does this differ from a hungry skinny person standing in line? ---
**Author:** ![Virgowitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9fc348/32.png) [@Virgowitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgowitch)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/30 "2003-01-18T02:48:39Z")
About 200-300lbs ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/31 "2003-01-18T11:42:55Z")
Kalt wrote: > [@](#): > > Sure, they can always go get it themselves at the grocery store - ditto with bottles of liquor. Then why not apply your reasoning to the grocer as well as the bartender? Why not limit how much food a fat person may buy? For that matter, why not make people buy their food from physicians who can determine their allergies and whatnot? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/32 "2003-01-18T13:12:06Z")
Can you imagine the anti-discrimination and emotional damage lawsuits when McCrap is forced to turn away fat customers? God these people disgust me. And their lawyers even more so. Yes, McCrap is abhorrent. But people have every right to eat it. And it’s not McCrap’s fault if said people (or their parents) are so criminally fucking stupid they can’t tell the difference between lard and lettuce. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/33 "2003-01-18T13:32:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\* > As to the topic, if McDonalds made those kids fat, then their school made them stupid. \*\* Sorry, I think it’s their parents who made them stupid. The old GIGO principle. It doesn’t occur to these people to think "O look, little Jimmy/Janie is putting on weight **Let’s do something about it!** If the kids are 400+ lbs, I hate to think what the parents look like. Sorry, this gets on a major nerve of mine. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/34 "2003-01-18T15:42:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*Yes, McCrap is abhorrent. But people have every right to eat it. And it’s not McCrap’s fault if said people (or their parents) are so criminally fucking stupid they can’t tell the difference between lard and lettuce. \*\* [McDonald’s Stock Slides As More Consumers Turn To Food](http://www.theonion.com/onion3901/mcdonalds_stock_slides.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Green\_Feather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@The\_Green\_Feather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Green_Feather)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/35 "2003-01-18T16:48:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Super-sized at 400-plus pounds and standing only 5-foot-6 > [@](#): > > “I had no idea that he was destroying his self” BULL! How could she not know? Is she blind, deaf and dumb? Even Tommy had more sense than that. This is clearly the parents fault. Even if she knows nothing about nutrition, she had to know her son was really, really … **FAT!** Not to mention the money. OK, I’ll mention it. The money spent at McD would have gone a lot further at the grocery store. And if you’re determined to destroy your health with food, the grocery store has all of the necessary ingredients. The assembly of these ingredients is not rocket science. This kid could use the exercise. Although he would probably pass out from exhaustion before the meal was served. ---
**Author:** ![the\_great\_dalmuti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b2d939/32.png) [@the\_great\_dalmuti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_great_dalmuti)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/36 "2003-01-18T17:01:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*Yes, McCrap is abhorrent. But people have every right to eat it. And it’s not McCrap’s fault if said people (or their parents) are so criminally fucking stupid they can’t tell the difference between lard and lettuce. \*\* Well, it’s our (society’s) problem, actually, that “said people . . .are so criminally . . .stupid.” The government has set up other barriers, and made certain rules protecting us from criminally stupid people. They’re called laws. I don’t understand why eveyone is so taken aback by this case. Most of us, I’m sure, lock our doors at night. We lock our car doors when we go into a store. We don’t let our kids play in the steets, etc. If we can’t trust our fellow citizens to not steal out possesions, sell drugs to children, or obey the speed limit, how can we expect them to correctly feed themselves and their children? We can’t. The government can pass guidelines, but it can’t interfere directly, it cannot physically step in and properly feed obese or malnourished children. The plaintiffs in this case, and their lawyers, are trying to raise awareness about the growing problem of obesity, in a manner that no newpaper article or TV news clip can. Every other day, in any given newspaper or news web site, there’s a story about how damn overweight the USA is. Are they doing any good? Probably not. Like most news, it’s just in one ear, and out the other. However, a David & Goliath story like “Fasto vs. McDonalds” catches everyone’s attention, and hopefully raises a few eyebrows. The best thing we can expect to come out of this case, is the exposure of McDonalds slightly misleading advertisement techniques, especially those targeting children. We can hope that people can will learn a little bit more about how seriously unhealthy fast food generally is. We can also hope for some more exposure of the very related problem of vending machines and fast food in public schools. The most intelligent legal case ever undertook? No. The most intelligent or well-intentioned plaintiffs in the world? Nope. But does that mean that this case doesn’t represent a serious problem, or that a lot of good could potentially come from the case? Not at all. Best, TGD ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/37 "2003-01-18T17:10:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*Can you imagine the anti-discrimination and emotional damage lawsuits when McCrap is forced to turn away fat customers? > \*\* This is what I was thinking. Mickey D’s would have to pay out millions upon millions if they turned away even _one_ fat person. It’s the curse of our society 😉 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/38 "2003-01-18T17:35:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Green Feather \* > \*\* Not to mention the money. OK, I’ll mention it. The money spent at McD would have gone a lot further at the grocery store. \*\* What exactly makes you think these people are poor? The fact that they are fat? Does it change things if they have enough money that they don’t have to factor in the cost of food at all? Or are you simply fond of assumeing that fat people are poor _and_ too stupid to decide how to spend their money- a task which you are far better suited for? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Green\_Feather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@The\_Green\_Feather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Green_Feather)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/39 "2003-01-18T18:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by even sven \* > \*\*What exactly makes you think these people are poor? The fact that they are fat? Does it change things if they have enough money that they don’t have to factor in the cost of food at all? Or are you simply fond of assumeing that fat people are poor _and_ too stupid to decide how to spend their money- a task which you are far better suited for? \*\* Lighten up. (pun intened ;)) I wasn’t suggesting that they were poor. I was pointing out that fast food is a waste in more ways than one. Rich people are fat and stupid too. Fast food sells because it’s fast. But the cost in terms of money, health and lifestyle far outweight the short term time savings. ---
**Author:** ![Virgowitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9fc348/32.png) [@Virgowitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgowitch)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092/40 "2003-01-18T18:09:00Z")
There have been a lot of news stories lately linking food stamps and obesity. It seems poor people really ARE fatter than the rich. Maybe they aren’t smart enough to avoid the Golden Arches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-lawsuit-a-real-casus-belly/149092.md?page=3)