NYC Mayor Bloomberg Banning Sugary Drinks

May 31st, 2012

Mayor Bloomberg is advocating a ban on the sale of sugary drinks more than 16 ounces as reported in the New York Times today.  While this may sound radical, he is quite correct that this is a major source of excess calories for Gotham residents.  The amount of calories in sodas and sweetened ice teas is a signficant contributer to the obesity epidemic.  I have mentioned in previous blog posts that these beverages provide practically no nutritious benefit and can be called “empty calories”.  However, some of the responsibility should be placed on the individual.  

I believe more education needs to be provided to the public.  Unfortunately,  the media dollars spent by soda manufacturers have far surpassed government efforts at health and wellness education, and diluted the message with glitzy advertisements aimed at children.  An alternative to the Mayor’s extreme move at making New York City healthier would be to put labels on high calorie drinks much like the labels on tobacco products.  Perhaps a label that says, “To burn this 16 oz. soda off, you will have to walk 4 miles.”  Or maybe, “This beverage may increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.”  

Part of the solution is to have people kick the sugar habit, much like smoking cessation.  We need to retrain our tastebuds to enjoy beverages with less sugar.  Homemade unsweetened ice tea with a wedge of fresh lemon can be a refreshing and healthy alternative.  You can make this cheaply by using tea bags and a pot of boiling water on the stove.    Don’t forget that most fruit juice contains as many calories as soda, so it is not an equivalent replacement!  If you want fruits in your diet, eat the actual fruit as you will also be getting a great helping of fiber.