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To: Original Mad Dog who wrote (5278)	2/20/2003 3:07:43 PM
From: Original Mad Dog	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7689

McDonald's calls amended obesity suit "senseless" Thursday February 20, 2:19 pm ET biz.yahoo.com NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - News) on Thursday dismissed as "senseless" the filing of an amended lawsuit in New York alleging the fast-food chain sells foods that are more hazardous than customers expect. The reaction from the world's largest restaurant chain came after new court papers were filed in a previously dismissed suit that had blamed the company's Big Macs, fries and Chicken McNuggets for obesity in children. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet received the filing on Thursday, his chambers said. "This senseless lawsuit's selective focus on only one food organization is not only absurd when you look at the facts, but is a serious disservice to anyone who is looking for real answers and information about healthy lifestyles, energy balance and personal responsibility," McDonald's said in a statement. In January, Sweet threw out the original suit but said it could be refiled with information backing the plaintiffs' claim that diners have no idea what is really in their food or that the products have allegedly become more harmful because of processing. To that end, the amended suit alleges the company served up advertisements promoting its calorie-laden food as being nutritious enough to eat every day. The filing alleges that the company has promoted its Chicken McNuggets, fish and chicken sandwichs, fries and hamburgers as being healthy when, in fact, researchers and even the company's own nutritional division in France has warned otherwise. The plaintiffs allege that the researchers have said that certain of these foods should not be consumed more than once a week or diners could suffer a range of health problems including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The amended complaint also alleges that a McDonald's advertising executive has previously testified that the company targets frequent diners in its advertising campaigns in an effort to get them to increase their purchases. In response, McDonald's statement said: "McDonald's continues to be a leader in providing customers with nutritional information about our food through in-store brochures, our website, or toll-free customer telephone number." In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites), McDonald's shares were up 3 cents at $13.53.