Kay Granger: “on Saturday I handed out awards to some 4,600 kids that participated with me in the Cowtown 5-K running race the weekend…”

“on Saturday I handed out awards to some 4,600 kids that participated with me in the Cowtown 5-K running race the weekend before. I was happy to promote an activity that gets kids moving. And I think that getting young people in events like the Cowtown race is a much better way to combat obesity than targeting fast-food restaurants with frivolous lawsuits. The question before this body today is simply, Should it be just as easy to file a lawsuit against a restaurant for causing obesity as it is to drive through the nearest take-out window for a quick burger and fries? The answer is no. The issue before us is responsibility, individual and personal responsibility for how we eat and how we exercise. We all know the statistics: two-thirds of Americans are overweight; 15 percent of our children are too heavy; obesity rates among teenagers have tripled in the last 20 years. Blaming the fast-food industry is not the answer to reducing obesity in America. Americans can sue the McDonald'ses and Burger Kings of the world until these establishments can pay no more, but not one American will lose weight until they eat better and exercise more frequently. I support this legislation because I do not want Americans to have a crutch for their overweight problem: restaurants and the fast-food industry. Instead, I want to provide Americans a better way, a healthy life-style.”