SUING MCDONALD’S

Everyone should know by now that most fast food is fattening. So it came as no surprise not long ago when a federal judge in New York threw out a damage suit by two overweight teenagers blaming McDonald’s instead of themselves. But a close reading of the 65-page decision shows that the teenagers have a point and their lawsuit may not be dead after all.

Chicken McNuggets are a big part of the problem, wrote District Judge Robert W. Sweet. Those golden brown, tasty items, “rather than being merely chicken fried in a pan, are a McFrankenstein creation of various elements not used by a home cook.” He listed more than a dozen fats and chemicals used in preparing the product. He concluded: “Chicken McNuggets, while seemingly a healthier option than McDonald hamburgers because they have ‘chicken’ in their names, actually contain twice the fat per ounce as a hamburger.” Such facts may be found on McDonald’s Web site but not in the food shops.

The plaintiffs are Jazlyn Bradley, 19 years old, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 270 pounds, and Ashley Pelman, 14, 4-foot-10 and 170 pounds. Their parents held McDonald’s to blame for their obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. Judge Sweet gave the plaintiffs 30 days to amend their suit to include an allegation that the processing of McDonald’s food makes it more dangerous than a customer would have reason to expect.

Of course, lack of exercise as well as diet can cause obesity. Of course, people should know better that to subsist largely on fast-food hamburgers, McNuggets, fries and sugar-laden soft drinks. Of course, it’s all obvious. But the obligation of fast-food chains, like any other business, is to reasonably inform customers of risks they would not otherwise suspect. It is information that may help stem the epidemic that now puts 60 percent of Americans overweight or obese and is contributing to the health care cost crises across the nation.