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NEW YORK CITY’S health commissioner announced last weekend that the rate of diabetes among city residents stands at 8 per cent, double what it was in 1994. Most of this staggering increase is due to a rise in type 2 diabetes in people who eat too much and exercise too little. The announcement is the latest demonstration that many Americans – and people from other nations – are eating themselves into an early grave. How do we tackle such a major public health problem?

With lawyers is one answer. At face value, the notion of a group of overweight people suing fast-food…

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