Lawsuits Don’t Get Rid of Fat

Re “Lawyers Put Their Weight Behind Obesity Cases,” July 2: In January my doctor gave me the diagnosis that I had been in denial about for quite some time. I was overweight. “What do you recommend?” I asked. “Should I sue McDonald’s? Taco Bell? File damages against Krispy Kreme?” My wise doctor instead instructed me to join Weight Watchers. Although there are many lawyers out there willing to bring Sara Lee to her dimply knees on my behalf, I decided to follow doctor’s orders and do the untraditional thing: I took responsibility for my own fat.

I joined Weight Watchers the following week and began following its sensible plan. In six months I lost 50 pounds non-litigiously. I would encourage the teens in New York who are suing McDonald’s to drop their suit and go to a Weight Watchers meeting to learn how to eat properly. Believe it or not, there are things on the menu under the golden arches that won’t kill you. You just have to know what to order. I sympathize with those kids. But going to court is not going to make them or anyone else healthy. Even if they are successful in their lawsuit, they will still be fat ... and so will their lawyers.

Ronald Shore

West Hollywood

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There’s no question that America is in the throes of an obesity epidemic, particularly worrisome in light of the crop of children affected by it. What is even more worrisome -- even appalling -- is the fact that there are teams of attorneys resorting to blackmailing companies such as Kraft and McDonald’s with public relations stunts and frivolous lawsuits in hopes of retrieving the low-hanging fruit of settlements.

Comparisons to tobacco company advertising and practices are fundamentally wrong; at issue with the tobacco lawsuits was the fact that plaintiffs could point to direct evidence that the tobacco companies lied about the addictive nature of their ingredients. To my knowledge, there is not a fast-food restaurant in America today touting mayonnaise and cheddar cheese as slimming.

Payouts by fast-food companies will not result in healthier Americans. It simply takes the focus away from true solutions to obesity -- funding school districts properly so kids can get their recesses back and burn off extra calories, providing education about nutrition for kids and adults and building bike paths instead of 10-lane highways.

Julia Greenberg-Bricklin

Studio City

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So lawyers are suing the fast-food industry for causing obesity. I don’t eat fast food, yet my clothes continue to shrink in the closet. Last night I ate two bowls of homemade chocolate pudding. Hmmm, I think I’ll sue Hershey’s.

Lila Cirillo

Huntington Beach