Responsibility of fast-food restaurants to contributing obesity
Many people today prefer fast food from restaurants instead of cooking from home. This is because foods from these restaurants are cheap to buy; it is convenient and fast to buy as take-away. Despite all this, the fast food is creating a big health problem in many countries, which is obesity. Consumers of fast foods have come forward to sue the fast food restaurants for causing obesity. The answer to the question on whether fast food restaurants should have responsibility for obesity is a No. This is because whether people eat fast foods or not, they do it voluntary without coercion and it matters with an individual choice.
“You are what you eat”, is a popular saying. This is because there are many people who eat fast foods and they are never obese, and there are those who never eat fast foods and they are obese. People ought to take good care by doing regular exercises to burn calories and avoid fast foods to stay healthy. In addition to this, some fast food restaurants such as Subway serve healthy foods (Michael, Rosemary, and Judith 2008).
The law is open and it provides that the consumer is solely responsible for his or her eating habits. Where the consumer is fully aware of the obvious health related complications, which are because of consuming fast foods, then the law will not come to his defense. The consumer should take responsibility of the decision he makes as regards eating habits.
Case study
In the case of Pelman v/s McDonald’s, children had consumed from this fast food store, and became obese, developed diabetes, had high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and heart diseases. They had filed a case to have compensation for obesity and being overweight, they wanted McDonald to improve nutritional labeling of their products, and they wanted the fast food chain to have a program to educate consumers on the dangers of fast foods.
The dismissal of the case was because it lacked legal backing. The judge argued that, consumers should have the knowledge of the potential dangers of eating from McDonald. Therefore, they cannot hold McDonald responsible if they decide on their free will to satisfy their appetite for fast food from McDonald. In this case, the lawyers stood to benefit on McDonalds, but not the children.
Liability of health problems affecting people is not on fast food restaurant. It is not easy to show with certainty that obesity was by eating foods from fast food companies. Obese people institute lawsuit against companies such as McDonald and Burger King only to profit from these lawsuits. The companies selling fast foods are companies just as any other and they need protection from consumers since the lawsuits amount to huge sums of money, which could liquidate the company (Waters 2012).
Works cited
Emanuela. Beauty Ideals around the World. 2009. Web.
Michael R. Solomon, Rosemary Polegato and Judith L. Zaichkowsky. Consumer behaviour: buying, having, and being. New York: Prentice Hall Canada Inc., 2008. Print.
Waters, Jessica. Are Fast Food Restaurants To Blame? 2012. Web.
