Obesity remains an issue in U.S.

Obese Americans continue to indulge in fast food at not only their expense, but that of the fast food industry, according to local health officials.

"Blaming fast food companies is an excuse for poor choices," said Jill Moffit, director of campus recreation at UNC Asheville.

People need to start taking responsibility for their actions, instead of blaming others, Moffitt said.

In order to reduce the number of obesity lawsuits, Congress passed the Cheeseburger Bill in October 2005, according to Project Vote Smart. The bill prohibits lawsuits against anyone engaged in the food industry on claims that the food caused obesity or weight gain to the plaintiff.

Moffit said this won't last long.

"I think most people who are serious with going forward with a lawsuit against fast food companies regarding their obesity are going to look for loopholes," Moffit said. "Legislature will help, but most times legislature creates unintended consequences that we can't foresee."

Such acts should make the fast food industry re-examine their practices, she said.

"The message for fast food companies is, 'Maybe we should care about how we make our food,'" Moffit said. "Not that it's their fault. I don't believe that one bit."

She said children are often victims of their parents' poor nutrition choices. This creates future plaintiffs for future obesity cases, she said.

"When we talk about children and their parents being sort of the people that are making these decisions for them, it's really easy to go there and say, 'What were those parents thinking?'" Moffit said. "There's so many issues that are involved with those kinds of decisions. I think each unique case is very reliant on the individual."

She said this isn't always intentional, especially with children from poor, single parent households, who are just trying to make ends meet.

"Their parents have to make really hard decisions on how their money is going to be spent," Moffit said. "Eating healthy is not going to be the thing they spend money on, because they're just overwhelmed trying to pay bills and put food on the table, much less what kind of food."

Moffit said such scenarios leave her with more questions than answers.

"With children who come from those kinds of backgrounds or those who have the means to do that and still make poor choices for their families, the challenge is, 'How do we educate to prevent this?'" Moffit said. "How do we get them what they need to know on how to make better choices?"

She said the challenge she and others face is to educate and give people different resources. This will help them make better choices, regardless of their situation, she said.

"Part of my job is to make people aware that we have to make tough decisions," Moffit said. "Nobody should be, in my opinion, branded as inconsiderate or uncaring of their child because they're choosing to not feed them well. I'm one of those people that really tries to look at the individual's situation before I put any blame on anything. I just focus on getting prevention and education materials out, so that we can do the best to help them."

According to Terri March, nutrition coordinator for Buncombe County and the Healthy Buncombe Coalition, the major contributor in obesity lawsuits is the result of people looking for meals at a value price.

For some families, this is all they can afford, she said.

"They're not going in to this with the understanding or concept of the huge amount of calories involved in supersized or value-added meals," March said. "When you are in families who are poor, they're just worried about getting something on the table to feed their child. The less nutritious products are cheaper and they can afford them and they keep folks from going hungry. So then you can't really blame a parent for trying to get food on the table."

She said it's important to make nutritious foods available to those who can't otherwise afford it.

"Perhaps there is a pricing structure that can be put in to place, where nutrient rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are more affordable," March said. "That might be a valuable strategy that we can put in to place."

Many families don't have access to healthy food options because they can't afford it, she said.

"In many lower income neighborhoods, especially those with transportation issues, the closest place to find food is a convenience store," March said. "You're not going to find fresh fruits and vegetables there and if you do they're not going to be quality products."

She said parental responsibility is certainly a key element in addressing obesity.

"There have been numerous studies that have shown that it's very difficult for parents to recognize the extent of the problem in their kids," March said. "We can't put the blame entirely on them. We need to educate and support our parents."

For Danny Dawkins, lawsuits in relation to obesity are not an issue for his company.

They avoid such issues by doing what's necessary, he said.

"From being in the industry, we have an obligation to listen to our customers and what our customers are saying," said Dawkins, senior director of UNC Asheville's Chartwells Dining Service. "We're always cognizant of all demographics. That's why we have our own registered dietitian on staff, who does nothing but handle those kind of concerns."

He said some people rely on such food for comfort without realizing the effects it can have.

That's why lawsuits occur, he said.

"Some people shut down and when they do that, they go to comfort foods," Dawkins said. Whether people want to believe it or not, food is a satisfier. It leads people to go into a comfort zone."

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