On Wednesday, a report from the US government said obesity was gaining on tobacco as the number one killer in America. Yesterday, a Republican-backed bill passed the House of Representatives sending out a clear message that no one was to blame but the individuals who choose to pile on the pounds.
The so-called cheeseburger bill is aimed at preventing people with weight-related health problems from suing fast food restaurants and food manufacturers. The measure was adopted by 276 votes to 139.
"The bill says, 'Don't run off and file a lawsuit if you are fat,'" said James Sensenbrenner Jr, a Wisconsin Republican. "It says, 'Look in the mirror because you're the one to blame."
The American food industry has been showing signs of anxiety since a New York judge threw out a case against McDonald's last year that blamed the fast food chain for causing obesity and health problems in a handful of teenagers. One plaintiff, a 15-year-old boy, was 1.65m (5ft 6in) and weighed 181kg (400lbs). The diabetic claimed to have eaten at McDonald's almost every day since he was six years old.
The judge at the time couldn't help ridiculing the defendants. There seemed to be little room for taking into account social conditions, poverty or education. "If a person knows, or should know, that eating copious orders of super-sized McDonald's products is unhealthy and may result in weight gain ... it is not the place of the law to protect them from their own excesses," he said.
Even so, the food industry has been fearful. With weight becoming a national obsession, the legal profession has scented a potentially lucrative avenue to pursue. Two out of three adults and nine million children are overweight or obese in America.
The food industry also has the slow-burn precedent set by the tobacco lawsuits, which were rejected for years before the first legal breakthroughs. Many legal experts regard the McDonald's suit as just the first salvo in a long battle. The tobacco industry has ended up paying American states over $250bn (£139bn) to settle suits.
The judge, though dismissive, also left the door open to a subsequent suit, which was also turned down. He noted, "Chicken McNuggets are a McFrankenstein creation."
Recent scientific evidence has attempted to show the addictive properties of certain foods in an attempt to debunk the theory that food manufacturers are blameless. John Banzhaf, a pioneer in the pursuit of the tobacco industry, recently said McDonald's alone could face compensation demands of $50bn.
The "cheeseburger bill" was written by Republican lawmakers, ostensibly to look after the many thousands of people employed by the food business.
The White House endorsed the bill. In a statement, it said: "Food manufacturers and sellers should not be held liable for injury because of a person's consumption of legal, unadulterated food and a person's weight gain."
For the politicians sponsoring the bill, the issue is simply a matter of common sense. It would not prevent suits brought because of a restaurant's negligence, false advertising, tainted food or mislabelling.
"The food industry is under attack and in the cross hairs of the same trial lawyers who went after tobacco," said Florida Republican Ric Keller.
Democrats complained that precious time in the Congressional calendar was being given over to the issue. However, the measure should not have come as a surprise: the Republicans have campaigned to provide legal immunity to a series of specific industries after attempts at broader laws were blocked.
Just last week, a bill to provide immunity to gun manufacturers and dealers was debated and defeated, and last year Republicans sought to protect the producers of a gasoline additive blamed for water pollution. In the past they have also sought immunity for the tobacco industry and vaccine manufacturers.
"'Ronald McDonald made me do it' should never be considered the basis for a lawsuit in the real world," said Tom DeLay, the house majority leader. Lawyers who sought to generate interest in "frivolous lawsuits" were "not consumer advocates or healthcare advocates or advocates for anything other than their wallets", he added.
However, the 'cheeseburger bill' is expected to meet significant opposition in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the food industry is launching its own pre-emptive action. McDonald's recently announced that it would stop "super-sizing" meals, and has been offering salads and other alternatives, including "all-white-meat" McNuggets. It has also made its fries healthier. Kraft, the biggest food producer in the US, said it would reduce the sizes of its portions.
Mr DeLay might have a point about the motives of the legal profession. But the threat of lawsuits is clearly already having an effect in motivating the food industry to improve its products. Mr Banzhaf warned that lifting the threat could have a disastrous effect. "Obesity looks like it is going to be our number one and most expensive health problem," he told the Wall Street Journal. "Rather than doing something about the problem, Congress is debating cutting off our most effective weapon against it."
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