Health Affairs, 22, no. 6 (2003): 207-216 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.6.207 © 2003 by Project HOPE	New Online   House Health Reform Bill   Paying for Reform   Vetting AHIP's Report   HIV/AIDS Costs   Brief: Insurance Reform   HA Blog Top 10

This Article Full Text (HTML) Reprint (PDF) Submit a response to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Archive Download to Citation Manager Reprints & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (11) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mello, M. M. Articles by Studdert, D. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mello, M. M. Articles by Studdert, D. M. Related Collections Legal/Regulatory Issues Public Health

Health Tracking

TRENDS

The McLawsuit: The Fast-Food Industry And Legal Accountability For Obesity

Recent litigation brought by a group of overweight children against the McDonald’s Corporation that seeks compensation for obesity-related health problems has provoked an intense public response. Many have derided this lawsuit as representing the worst excesses of the tort liability system, while others have drawn parallels to tobacco litigation. Fast-food litigation raises the question of where accountability for the economic and public health consequences of obesity properly rests. In this paper we consider the reasonableness of the claims against fast-food companies and discuss several social effects that the litigation may have irrespective of its outcome in court.

                      What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Gallar Obesity and climate change Int. J. Epidemiol., August 17, 2009; (2009) dyp279v1. [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. B. Werner, A. H. Feinstein, and C. E. Hardigree The Risk to the American Fast-Food Industry of Obesity Litigation Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, May 1, 2007; 48(2): 201 - 214. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Lee Global health promotion: how can we strengthen governance and build effective strategies? Health Promot. Int., December 1, 2006; 21(suppl_1): 42 - 50. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Mello, D. M. Studdert, and T. A. Brennan Obesity--the new frontier of public health law. N. Engl. J. Med., June 15, 2006; 354(24): 2601 - 2610. [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Drewnowski and N. Darmon The economics of obesity: dietary energy density and energy cost Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, July 1, 2005; 82(1): 265S - 273S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. K. Yancey, R. G. Robinson, R. K. Ross, R. Washington, H. R. Goodell, N. J. Goodwin, E. R. Benjamin, R. G. Langie, J. M. Galloway, L. N. Carroll, et al. Discovering the Full Spectrum of Cardiovascular Disease: Minority Health Summit 2003: Report of the Advocacy Writing Group Circulation, March 15, 2005; 111(10): e140 - e149. [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. B Michels A maternalistic approach to prevention Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2005; 34(1): 3 - 4. [Full Text] [PDF]