Supersize It

Lawsuits: In the Big Apple, 10 plaintiffs have sued fast-food chains, blaming those outlets for causing their obesity. Does this presage a tortuous feeding frenzy?

Plaintiff No. 1, Caesar Barber, blames the usual suspects in a suit filed last month in Bronx Supreme Court. McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken are the heavies Barber holds responsible for his woes, which include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a history of heart attacks.

Barber, who reportedly believed that fast food was good for him, complained there "was no fast food I didn't eat, and I ate it more often than not because I was single, it was quick and I'm not a very good cook."

The 272-pound maintenance worker, along with nine others, is biting back, claiming fast-food chains post deceptive nutritional information and "addict" customers. If they succeed, the fast-food industry could face a roving pack of lawyers, fresh from suing the tobacco industry and hungry for a meal.

The suit is an obvious attempt to cash in on recent reports about obesity, said to have caused 300,000 deaths in 2000.

Critics say that statistic should be taken with a grain of salt, since it ignores variables like physical inactivity, health care access and risky weight-loss practices. But don't expect such concerns to stop a voracious lawyer, who has his own appetite to think about.

The restaurant industry dismisses the suit as absurd, but would be advised to take it seriously. Lawyers are building their case and planning fast-food suits in several states. There are a lot of juicy targets, including advertising, Ronald McDonald (the fast-food industry's Joe Camel?); promotional toys and movie tie-ins.

If fast food becomes the next ostracized industry, will it, like tobacco, face massive class-action settlements, restrictive advertising laws and onerous taxes?

In New York City, cigarettes just hit $7.50 a pack, thanks to a new tax that was certainly made easier to enact by years of legal assaults on the tobacco industry. The hike is sending smokers to Indian reservations, which do a brisk business selling smokes tax free.

Will the rest of us be lining up behind the smokers for a fast-food fix? Is it goodbye Big Macs, hello Sitting Bull Burgers?

Fast food. Smoking. Gambling. Soon reservations maybe the only places tolerant of the minor-vices. And personal responsibility will become as rare as a fast-food junkie missing a meal.