Abstract
Along with increased rates of obesity, the public discourse about obesity's root causes and relevant interventions has also substantially increased since the "Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity" was issued in 2001. This article suggests that despite public disapprobation, litigation, dubbed "fat lawsuits," has raised public awareness of the issues, spurred positive industry change, and highlighted the need for government and legislative action to accomplish the surgeon general's goals for reducing overweight and obesity. As legal efforts aimed at tobacco demonstrated, a healthy legal system is a necessary component for achieving public health. Practitioners are urged to keep an open mind about legal efforts to curb obesity.