I read in my local paper this weekend about a ban on sugary drinks of more than 16 oz. in New York. I had to learn more, so I looked it up online, and sure enough, I learned that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that his administration was planning to ban sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces (source).
I have never ordered a large drink like a "Big Gulp" because I don't like soft drinks, but I wondered how the diet Coke drinking general public feels about it.
It's Feedback Friday...
What do you think of a ban on the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 oz.?
Is this plan going to help in the fight against obesity?
Here is a clip from the movie Wall-E that came to mind when I heard about this proposed ban:
People will simply get refills. It almost makes me want to start drinking giant sodas (Here its Route 64 from Sonic) just so you can't tell me what to put in my pie hole. The ultimate truth is that everyone is responsible for his or her own diet and health.
ReplyDeleteLet's do it! Ha, ha it kind of makes me want to start drinking Coke just so I can buy one. :)
DeletePeople need to learn to have personal responsibility! It's not the government's role to regulate what and how much people drink. And maybe I'm wrong, but I first heard that this "ban" would NOT regulate the size of diet sodas ~ just regular. In my opinion, diet soda is worse then regular soda.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of silly, what happened to free will? What will be next?
DeleteI think it crazy. Sometimes I order them to get the strofoam cups, at McDonalds. So you don't have them sweating and sip on it all day. The ice doesnt melt. It works for me. They already put a sample size order of fries in the happy meals, and apples. Can't you make up your own mind any more??????
ReplyDeleteDude, DON'T me started about that tiny fry! I always order a Happy Meal with my kids and that tiny thing with 10 french fries really ticked me off! That was insanity.
DeleteMy kids were so cranky about the fries ~ they can (and do) have apples a home ~ going out to eat is a treat ~ at least for us!
DeleteWe ask for no apples in the Happy Meal and while they look at us like we have two heads, we get two of those mini fry things. It works out perfectly because then my kid gets just enough fries and I get to steal the other mini thing to eat with my salad. Haha, beat you, sneaky Californians.
DeleteBugglesnug- I didn't know you could do that! I will be trying this. We rarely go to McD's, and when we do they share a meal- NEVER enough fries and those apples are *gross*. We always have Fuji apples at home, and my kids love them. I don't need McD's to make healthy choices for me!
DeleteThis is one more thing the government shouldn't be worrying about just like "healthy alternatives" in schools. Can't we just keep the fat kids home on school party days and why doesn't the government do something more productive like require the health insurance companies to charge surcharges on obese people or require the insurance company to follow the people that get the gastic by-pass and make them pay the money back if they gain the weight back - I have three neighbors who would have to pay the money back - that's a lot of money if you consider the surgery and all the pre-surgery consultations - why don't we try to make changes that don't punish the majority?!
ReplyDelete"keep the fat kids home on school party days" Really? There are many reasons why kids are pudgy, and you're really suggesting that they have to miss out on the fun things because they're overweight? You want them to be excluded and feel worse about themselves than they probably already do? Besides, the kids aren't the ones buying the junk, it's the parents, so why punish the kids?
DeleteWait, what? Are you trying to make a point by saying the opposite of what you mean? I can be thick sometimes.
DeleteI meant gastric - on gastic - sorry for the typo!!
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous what these politicians think about and try to regulate! Does New York have nothing else to worry about than what size soda people buy? I don't want the government rationing ANY of my food, healthy or not. I am perfectly capable of doing that myself, thank you. Voters need to think twice at the next election and stop putting these nut cases into office. It's past the point of being funny, it's getting scary.
ReplyDeleteI have a "You're not the boss of me" kind of personality, so it rubs me the wrong way too
DeleteRidiculous! A "Big Gulp" is cheaper than a 12oz. drink. SO many times I have bought a couple of those and split them between us for picnics. (Wow, I sound really cheap! LOL)
ReplyDeleteI'm the same kind of cheap! Ha!
DeleteIt's so wrong the way government officials are trying to tell us what we can and can't eat. If they really wanted to do something to help, they should work on getting the prices of lean meat and produce down so the junk food isn't so much cheaper. People are struggling financially right now, and sometimes it's the healthy choices that are cut out to make ends meet. The government needs to stay out of my refrigerator!
ReplyDeleteIt's a direct infringement on personal freedom. It will not impact obesity. The only thing that will improve our obesity rate is an attitude change among individuals. The government can't do that. As an avid reader and English teacher, I can't help but be reminded of literature that warns and shows danger in this type of government control i.e. Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and plenty of others. Scary stuff!
ReplyDeleteSo here's the thing, I'm so annoyed with the political slight of hand games....banning big pops isn't going to change a thing. It's like "Whoooo, look what we did to make you healthy...ooooooh, aren't we great..." Big deal. How about you ban the stuff that's slowly killing All of us...oh, wait..that's because you all are getting heavy kick backs from the companies>head slap<.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your Friday comments. As a Texan, I have to go far--as in online or to Austin--to find other liberal-minded people. (The sky's about the only thing blue in Texas.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, I think this is one instance where liberals and conservatives will agree. We are a people who don't like to be told what to do, and IMO our history shows us that outlawing pleasures won't work, witness Prohibition and the war on drugs. We had alcoholics during Prohibition and drug addicts throughout the drug war, and we'll have obesity even should we outlaw Big Gulps.
Banning TV would do a lot more good than banning sodas over 16oz to fight obesity. However, I don't support the ban of either because people need to learn to be responsible for their own health, and then live with the consequences if they're not.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is another story that made it "over the pond" - I read about it yesterday and just discussed it with my friend.
ReplyDeleteIt seems very, very ridicoulus - they don´t trust grown ups enough to handle their calory intake by themselves, and at the same time let them carry guns? Oh, wow.
I agree with Kate - it´s a direct infringement of your personal freedom.
I don´t even drink pops, but if they tried something similar here, I think I´d organize a protest march- the government has no right to fumble with people´s sugar intake.
Personally, I think it's ridiculous. The government doesn't think you are smart enough to chose what to put in your body. Yet you can drive a car and vote (hmmmm, maybe we ought to investigate that a little further, LOL.) schools here in Georgia pulled sugared drinks out of the school. What they found is it did not decrease over all sugar consumption, it just shifted the types and consumption times.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the best way to get rid of overweight kids in the school is to out PE and recess back in it!
I think it's pretty ridiculous. It'd be great to have some nutrition classes in school. Ones that actually teach how food metabolizes in the body, how we store fat, how we burn fat. Not just a mention of a food pyramid. Something in depth. Something taught in a very positive manner. Of course, doing this at home would be a good start.
ReplyDeleteHey Jen,
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I agree with the Mayor...and while we are at it, let's ban two layer cakes in bakeries and only allow cupcakes to be sold. No more half gallon ice cream..only individual popsicles. No more 1 lb bags of sugar..only tiny teaspoon packages....etc.
Ok...you get the sarcasm ....right???
Janet xox
The Empty Nest
Well, if nothing else, the Mayor's suggestion may effectuate a shift towards quality over quantity/size, and towards nutrition vs. what-we-crave.
ReplyDelete