Ciccioni of all the world, in guard: abboffate to you before that it is too much late. The hardest times, times of insalati some, Macedonians and ipocalorico food. In the view-finder there are the obese ones of America, but exactly like it happened for the smokers, the tendency is fatally destined to spread. Two senators mean to introduce the next week to the Conference one they bill in parliament anti-ciccioni, the first Obesity bill in the bicentenary history of the United States.

The fat person is not neither of right neither of left and in fact the initiative of the two legislators Americans is perfectly bipartisan. One of they, senator Jeff Bingaman of the New Mexico, is democratic; the other, Bill Frist of the Tennessee, of medical profession, is republican. If it will never come adopted, the Obesity bill still does not announce a new proibizionismo: it does not preview the putting to the ban of fried patatine and cakes to the double butter. It is, in truth, a provision rather softly, that it authorizes the federal agencies to spend greater quotas their budget in order to put in guard the citizens against the dangers of the overweight. The tendency is however clearest: a long series of marks indicates them that the America is to the eve of one new war, this time against the ciccia.

More it alarms to you not are as well as the consumers, how much the producers and the distributors of the so-called one junk food, that one robaccia to eat synthetic and to highest cholesterol and sugar rate much mistress from large and piccini. The fear runs in the boards of directors of the great chains of fast-food and the multinationals that have invaded the world with the bollicine of their drinks. The fear is one single and much precise one: that sooner or later - more before that then - the history ends dov' is ended that one of the campaigns anti-smoke. In court.

The lawyers are themselves already preparing. The pioneer of the actions lawyers against the cigarette manufacturers, John Banzhaf, than today standard to the faculty of Law of George Washington University, studies the matter for a long time. "it will not be easy to gain a cause against a food industry", says Banzhaf, "but after the successes lawyers against that one of the tobacco, null it is impossible in a court".

There are of the previous ones. The McDonald' s has been denounced from the associations of the indù of several cities, because it hid the fact that its fried patatine came put to rosolare - before that in "oil vegetable to the 100 for hundreds" - also in fat person of manzo. E' "intentional twisting against our religion", has supported the devout indù of America. And the McDonald' s has had to admit the twisted one, to ask humbly excuse and to pay nine million euro. Analogous cases have dragged in front of the judge the chain of pizzerie Hut Peak and other giants of the junk food. Sure, it is not the same thing that to demonstrate the legal responsibility of a producer of maionese in the dead women for infarct of an obese one or to force one chocolate factory to pay the expensive cures of a sick one of diabetes.

From this point of view, the things for the lawyers were much easier when they had to that making with the multinationals of the tobacco. The food, in the end, is not harmful in himself and - to difference of cigarettes - it does not give habit. But the lawyers of the great food industries have smell the wind and have advised to the manager to run to the shelters.

All he is begun with the relationship published in the December slid from the Surgeon-general, the head of the USA Health. The problem of the obesity in the society American is an old history but by now, it said the relationship, it has become one true and own "epidemic": the 61 for hundreds of the Americans is overweight; the deaths which had to this cause are 300mila to the year - and here for before it turns an official text has made an explicit comparison with the dead men caused from the smoke. The children with too many chili are the double quantity, and the adolescents the triple one, of how many were in 1980. Every year 117 billions of dollars for the sanitary costs are spold and social it associates you to this problem. The relationship of the Health called explicitly "to the action".

Some month after George Bush, the first citizen of America, has meant to give the good example making to install in one of prati of the House the sport White woman equipments and apparatuses in order to measure the pressure of the blood and the percentage of the corporeo fat person. The president also has invited (officially) the constituents to follow the so-called "program five times to the day": at least five portions of verdura or yield fresh to the day. But also the food industry has felt the alarm bell and it has been put in motion. It could have argued that the problem is not only guilt its: half of the responsibility goes also to one more and more sedentario style of life. With to the merendine producers those of televisori would have to be found under accusation also and videogiochi.

McDonald' s, Coca-Cola and company have instead preferred giving test of good will and have taken a series of initiatives in order to demonstrate that they are not less enemy of ciccia of how much it are not the Surgeon-general or the zealous senators Frist and Bingaman. They have dedicated good part of their situated ones web to the health and the fitness; the Coca-Cola has given podometri the students of several cities, in order to stimulate them to measure the gold physical activity. A group of great companies has launch a program of education and fight against the infantile obesity, called "Activate" (Is activated), that it tries to remove the children from the tv and to approach them instead the fields sportswomen. The war, however, is only to the beginnings and many new provisions are in arrival. The frightening Internal Revenue Service, the federal Office of the taxes, has decided as an example to render deductible to the denunciation of the yields expenses "against the obesity", comprised the quotas paid to the circles sportswomen and dietetic drugs. Will be enough all this to replace in shape the country that has invented the Coca-Cola and the Big Mac? We will see. Sin however that some distributive justice does not exist in matter: to have of the leaner Americans it will not make to fatten starves you to it of this world.

(13 July 2002)

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