Ban on Serving Obese Customers

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A lawmaker in the fattest state in the
nation says he wasn't trying to offend anybody by filing a bill
that would ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers.
He says he never even expected his plan to become law.
Republican Rep. {encode="jread@house.ms.gov" title="John Read "} of Gautier says he was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi.
Mississippi is the first state where more than 30 percent of
adults are considered obese, according to a 2007 study by the Trust
for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease
prevention.
The Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington-based nonprofit
group supported by restaurants and food companies, blasted the
no-serve bill in Mississippi.
A senior research analyst for the group, J. Justin Wilson, says
today (Monday) such bills strip personal responsibility out of the
obesity equation.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)