:02:01
Mississippi -- where one
in four people are obese.
:02:05
I grew up in west Virginia,
:02:06
currently the third-fattest
state in America.
:02:09
When I was growing up, my mother
cooked dinner every single day.
:02:13
Almost all my memories of her
are in the kitchen.
:02:15
And we never ate out,
:02:17
only on those few, rare
special occasions.
:02:19
Today, families do it
all the time,
:02:21
and they're paying for it --
not only with their wallets,
:02:25
but with their waistlines.
:02:26
Obesity is now
second only to smoking
:02:28
as a major cause
of preventable death in America,
:02:31
with more
than 400,000 deaths per year
:02:33
associated
with related illnesses.
:02:35
In 2002, a few Americans
got fed up with being overweight
:02:39
and did what we do best.
:02:41
They sued the bastards.
:02:43
taking aim
at the fast-food companies
:02:45
and blaming them
for their obesity and illnesses,
:02:48
a lawsuit was filed in New York
on behalf of two teenage girls,
:02:50
one who was 14 years old,
4'10", and 170 pounds,
:02:56
the other, 19 years old,
5'6", and 270 pounds.
:03:00
The unthinkable
had suddenly become reality.
:03:04
People were suing the golden
arches for selling them food
:03:07
that most of us know isn't
good for you to begin with
:03:10
yet each day,
one in four Americans
:03:13
visits a fast-food restaurant.
:03:15
And this hunger for fast food
isn't just in America.
:03:18
it's happening
on a global basis.
:03:21
McDonaldÂ’s alone operates
more than 30,000 joints
:03:24
in over 100 countries
on 6 continents
:03:25
and feeds more than 46 million
people worldwide every day.
:03:30
That's more than
the entire population of Spain.
:03:33
In the United States alone,
:03:35
McDonaldÂ’s accounts for 43 %
of the total fast-food market.
:03:38
They're everywhere --
Wal-Mart's, airports, rest stops,
:03:41
gas stations, train stations,
shopping malls,
:03:43
department stores,
amusement parts, even hospitals.
:03:47
That's right -- hospitals.
:03:49
At least you're close
when the coronary kicks in.
:03:51
Lawyers for McDonald's
called the suits "frivolous",
:03:54
stating that the dangers of
its food are universally known
:03:57
and that these kids can't show
that their weight problems