Rusty Saber: 'Big Grease' next in line for litigation's deep fryer

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.

In previous columns, I predicted that when smokers who failed to grasp the meaning of the blatant health warnings printed on cigarette packages had probed the depth of the deep pockets of Big Tobacco, overweight people will attempt to tap into the deep pockets of the fast food industry: "Big Grease."

Anyone with the IQ of a paper weight has always known the health risks of smoking, yet courts have awarded millions of dollars to victims of long-time tobacco users.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, obesity has replaced cigarette smoking as the leading cause of death in America.

A federal judge recently threw out the leading case, a class-action suit blaming McDonald's food for causing obesity and other health problems. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet said the plaintiffs failed to show McDonald's products "involve a danger that is not within the common knowledge of consumers." He adds that it isn't the place of the law to "protect people from themselves." To paraphrase the judge, "You mess with the bull, you get the horns." This judge is my new hero!

You may be thinking that Judge Sweet's inspired ruling has nipped-in-the-bud future legal assaults against "Big Grease." If you believe that, you might be interested in buying some Enron stock, at a good price, of course. According to the Associated Press, the attorney for the plaintiffs had previously filed similar suits against Wendy's, Burger King and KFC and placed them on hold until the judge ruled on the McDonald's suit. He announced that the dismissed suit would be amended and filed again; the other suits probably also will go forward.

I remind you that the early tobacco lawsuits were unsuccessful. Conventional wisdom was that, of course, smokers knew the hazards of smoking. The wisdom today is the same: If you eat copious amounts of fast foods, expect to gain an equal amount of weight.

If one deliberately jumps off a bridge into the water and drowns, neither bridge nor water is to blame. However, the endless barrage of negative news about the use of tobacco must have caused judges and juries to become sympathetic to the pleas of stricken smokers.

Today, the media drumbeat is beginning toward the growing problem (no pun intended) of obesity in America. Obesity is a weighty problem (pun intended). Media attention will likely increase. The search is on for a culprit. Someone must be to blame for this dire situation. It surely can't be the overweight ones. Enter "Big Grease."

Not only do fast food restaurants "force feed" innocent victims unhealthy food, but they also are responsible for creating a hankering for larger portions of food.

According to research by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, portions at fast food restaurants have grown significantly larger. Regular restaurants have followed suit, eventually leading to the consumption of larger portions of food at home.

Margo Wooten of the Center for Science in the Public Interest was quoted by The Associated Press: "We're getting so used to these big portion sizes when we eat out that we forget what a normal portion is."

The focus on American eating habits is brought about by an increasing number of overweight people. The Center for Disease Control reports that more than 44 million Americans are obese. Americans may be racking up calorie-laden portions at home, but fast-food restaurants are to blame they started it. If the tobacco judgments are any criteria, judges and juries will eventually take this into account.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a steady diet of cheeseburgers with triple meat patties on a bun, french fries and sodas or milkshakes, or the caloric equivalent at home, will put some serious weight on the bones in a hurry. Rightly so, obesity is emerging as a national health problem.

Mark my words. The scapegoat has been identified. The "Big Grease" as villain era is at hand.