When I first saw the banner, "Insurance Companies Invest in Fast Food for Easy Profit, Despite Public Health Concern" (see here, here and here), I had to search within myself for the emotional tone appropriate to the finding, because this doesn't affect me personally (I don't eat fast food, I can afford to buy olive oil and vegetables and a gym membership, and I have health insurance through my employer). Outrage? The outrage button has been pushed so many times that it's worn out. Another set of corporations are acting not in the public interest? Who knew?
No, my response to this tended towards irony and vast amusement, highlighted by KFC's offering of a meatwich which I first took to be a joke. Perhaps the next thing you'll hear about is health insurance companies investing in tobacco, dioxin, arsenic and contaminated pork. However, I don't believe there's a deeper, nefarious motive underlying health insurers investing in fast food restaurants. There is no business model to poison people with nutritionally atrocious food so that they can inflate the need to buy policies, then reap profits by denying coverage for resulting diseases (diabetes and heart disease) that are lifestyle-related and therefore self-inflicted. No, it's more likely simple corporate tone-deafness to regarding the relationship between profitability and public image - they have the revenue to invest, the returns on fast-food companies are good and where was that line again in the corporate charter to act in the interests of the general public?