Man Sues McDonald's for making him fat ...

[IDrinkaRum]

and wins $17,500 for his weight gain

A former McDonald's franchise manager in Brazil who used to weight 155 pounds and "ballooned" up to 231 in the 12 years he worked for the restaurant sued McDonald's for his weight gain.

In the years of his employment, the restaurant headquarters would send mystery shoppers to the store to report back on the quality of the food. This caused him to have to taste test everything they were selling to make sure it was up to quality. Plus, he would be given free lunches of burgers, fries, and ice cream.

[Greenday]

Oh well then. Since they offered him free food, that meant he HAD to eat it of course.

Perhaps I should sue my college. I gained 35 pounds in th past four years. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was still growing when I entered college or that I no longer played sports hardcore like in high school.

[KabeRinnaul]

I never eat at McDonalds, but don't they have salads? When I worked at Burger King, I usually got a salad for lunch.

[blas87]

Not sure about MacDo, but the salads at Wendy's are not much better for you than burgers and fries. There is as much sugar in one of those salads as a soda pop.

Common sense here. This is why I eat fast food and junk in moderation, and why I exercise almost every day.

[Andara Bledin]

Wait... he got $17k for gaining a whopping 65 lbs?

WTF?!?

He worked there for 12 years, is 32 now, so he started when he was 20. But none of that weight gain might be because of a change in activity level. Oh, no....

As much as I don't care for McDonald's, I hope they appeal and win.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

I wouldn't expect "change in activity level" to be relevant, except possibly in keeping the gain from being more.

As for the health of the salads... well, it depends on which you eat and what dressing you choose. A caesar salad with grilled chicken and no dressing's not bad, health-wise (if I remember rightly) but you get sick of them. Still, though, it's one meal a day, and even if you prefer burgers you can get the small ones.

[blas87]

Salad is not that great for you if you douse it with dressing and tons of croutons (oh I love me those croutons) and blocks of shredded cheese.

It's actually healthier to eat lean protein, salmon or tuna or chicken, instead of eating rabbit food and making it into a high calorie meal with all of its dressings and add-ons.

Level of activity is very crucial. Once a person reaches adulthood and metabolism starts slowing (for women, it can start slowing down as early as 18!!!!!!!) it's more than crucial actually to get at least 30 minutes of activity per day, preferably more. That's much easier said than done, I know, I know. I try my best, I can't always get more than 45 minutes in. Light weight lifting is a must for women to maintain healthy bone structure and has been shown to help prevent osteoperosis. Cardio is great for burning lots of calories in a short period of time. It does not have to be running. I never run. I power walk with an incline on the treadmill, or use a heavier resistance on the eliptical.

You also have to figure that the older you get, the less you will be able to "pig out" the way you did as a kid, a teen, and in your college years. In fact, college is when a lot of people put weight on. A balanced diet, or at least moderation of snacks and junk, is key to keeping yourself at a healthy weight.

[HYHYBT]

There is a good bit of physical activity involved in that job, though.

[Plaidman]

There is a good bit of physical activity involved in that job, though.

My friend was a manager at a McDonalds. All he did was sit in the office and bark orders to his employees.

Then he got fired.


In anycase, yet another poor victim who was taken advantage of because they can't take care of themselves and expect the world to bow to them. YAY!. I'm EVER so happy he got that much.


Who wants to bet he went to mcdonalds to celebrate?

[bhskittykatt]

While I don't really agree with the settlement, I'll play Devil's Advocate.

Hubby worked for McD's. At least at the local franchises (at least, the 3 Hubby had been to), there is no place for you to store a meal brought from home. There's no fridge. There's no real place to even stash a lunch box. A couple of Hub's CWs actually kept food in the commercial cooler, which they weren't supposed to do. When Hubby asked his manager if there was a place he could store his food, she shrugged and said "I dunno. Not really."

Hubby had the advantage of living close by, so he could go home for lunch. But if you didn't have that option, and you're making low wages so you can't afford to eat at other establishments, and you can't pack a lunch, what other options do you have?

Yeah, McD's didn't force him to eat the food. No one's arguing that. But they probably took away a lot of alternative options.

Just sayin.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I still call bullshit. When I worked all day at the pizza place, I often had the food; however, I didn't gain any weight while working there. Why, you ask? A novelty idea called EATING LESS. No-one forced him to sit there like a pig in a trough, stuffing his face. If I had to eat pizza, I'd pick a small one (the pizza place did these teeny ones; we used to sell them for £2 along with a can of fizzy as a lunchtime special) rather than grabbing a huge family size one for lunch. He could have easily have had a small fries or a salad which would have done the job.

[Boozy]

Pizza is a bit different, though. It's more filling. You can top one slice with lots of veggies and less cheese and get a decent meal.

It's really hard to cut back on the calories in a McDonald's meal and still feel full. There are 550 calories in a Happy Meal alone. Of course, you can skip the soda, but that's still a lot of calories for what would basically feel like a snack to a grown man.

I'm not going to comment on the law suit, because I don't know the details, but if what bhskittykatt says about not being able to store food from home is true, I think we can at least admit that is unfair to employees.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Even so, it's not grounds for suing. If that's the case, then I fear for the future of humanity.

[dendawg]

Does this mean I get to sue Namco, because Pac-Man made me eat more?

[HYHYBT]

My friend was a manager at a McDonalds. All he did was sit in the office and bark orders to his employees.

Then he got fired

The one, I expect, had a lot to do with the other.

Hubby worked for McD's. At least at the local franchises (at least, the 3 Hubby had been to), there is no place for you to store a meal brought from home. There's no fridge. There's no real place to even stash a lunch box. A couple of Hub's CWs actually kept food in the commercial cooler, which they weren't supposed to do. When Hubby asked his manager if there was a place he could store his food, she shrugged and said "I dunno. Not really."

Hubby had the advantage of living close by, so he could go home for lunch. But if you didn't have that option, and you're making low wages so you can't afford to eat at other establishments, and you can't pack a lunch, what other options do you have?

There are, of course, refrigerators. But health codes or liability or whatever mean you cannot put stuff from home in them. And the store cannot be left without a manager, so unless there is another there, you cannot leave.