Fears that overweight Americans will develop an appetite for litigation drove the House to pass a bill that would bar lawsuits by restaurant customers claiming burgers and french fries made them fat.

“Trial lawyers have said they’d target restaurants the way they’ve targeted the tobacco industry,” National Restaurant Assn. President Steven Anderson said.

Reasons behind the campaign for a so-called cheeseburger bill, legal and industry observers say, include a broad movement in Washington to limit lawsuits and concern about rising liability insurance rates.

Kansas has passed its own version of the cheeseburger bill.