As we learned in Chapter 7, obesity—especially childhood obesity—has become a national health scandal. In December 2003 Xenical became the first drug specifically approved by the FDA for the treatment of obesity in adolescents. In the past few years lawsuits have been brought—and settled—against McDonalds (for failing to disclose the use of beef fat in its French fries), DeConna Ice Cream Company (for understating fat and calorie content of its ice cream), Robert’s American Gourmet Foods (for understating fat and calorie content in its cheese snacks), Kraft (for failing to disclose that Oreo cookies contained trans fatty acids), and the New York City school system (for serving nonnutritious food in the schools).

Internet Assignment What changes can you detect in the food industry since the spate of lawsuits against them?