This is not really a question, but rather a topic up for discussion.

What do you think of the NYC ban on the sale of large sugary soft drinks?

As a health care professional, I can understand the harm that drinking large amounts of soda does to the human body, whether it be in one sitting or over a course of time. I totally agree that the consumption of soda is out of hand and should be reigned in. But, does this ban go too far?

hello Cat,
that is definitely a hot topic.
government infringing on a persons rights to make their own decisions, and businesses rights (!?!?!), to earn a
profit by deceiving the community regarding proper portion sizes.

should the government get involved in limited substances that would eventually harm us??
seems like an age old question-- (drugs, alcohol, sex for sale)

hmm,
i would not like to see our rights being controlled by others who have alteria motives. however, i do believe
that our society needs to revamp the way a business is conducted.

I, for one, would love to go to a restuarant and be able to get a single serving of either an appetizer or main entree
or dessert.

without paying for the family sized portion.
without paying for a plate sharing

I do not think making a law to ban is a good idea.
Besides, folks can get around it by ordering two smaller ones.
And the restaurants can (and probably will) offer a deal so that the cost of two smaller ones is similar to the cost of one large one.
And to smaller ones might equal even more drink volume than the old large size.
So, what does the law do but only encourage folks to drink even more!
Only a few will probably just stick with the smaller size only - instead of doubling up.

I completely, totally, 100% percent support a total 100% ban on sugary pop and stuff for all elementary and junior and high schools ...

but in the public realm, it doesn't seem like it would help in the long run ...

A

Interesting responses!

I was leaning in that direction, but perhaps not so much. NYC didn't take away anyone's rights to consume the sugary drink, and businesses can probably reap a larger profit if a person is desperate enough to buy multiple smaller size drinks. All done in the name of promoting a healthier lifestyle. NYC is just making it more difficult for a person to purchase the larger volume.

However, there is still a big problem, in that even the smaller size portions are bad enough! And what are they calling a "healthy" drink anyway? Schools are selling juices now instead of soda. All that did was take the "diet soda" option away, and replacing it with a sugary drink.

[quote]
Posted By suzanne on 20 Sep 2012 10:28 AM
hello Cat,
that is definitely a hot topic.
government infringing on a persons rights to make their own decisions, and businesses rights (!?!?!), to earn a
profit by deceiving the community regarding proper portion sizes.

should the government get involved in limited substances that would eventually harm us??
seems like an age old question-- (drugs, alcohol, sex for sale)

hmm,
i would not like to see our rights being controlled by others who have alteria motives. however, i do believe
that our society needs to revamp the way a business is conducted.

I, for one, would love to go to a restuarant and be able to get a single serving of either an appetizer or main entree
or dessert.





[/quote

i feel it is infringing on a persons right to decide for themselves what is appropriate.
but again, this is a two sided coin.. there are good arguments for both sides and i believe both sides have valid points.
i don't mind the ban, as i don't believe in consuming these sugary drinks-- because their is no nutritional vlaue. however, will the ban
include king size chocolate bars next??
is it bad to limit people who wouldn't limit themselves???

I do not think we should allow the government to start banning,
not individual potentially harmful.
Public cigarette smoking in closed places, like restaurants and public buildings, yes, it can harm unwilling bystanders.
However, we as a sociaety need to take responsibility.
Two cases in point: one recent, one a few years back.
.
1.) The person who ordered a hot coffee from McD's through Drive-Through, put it between their legs,
and then spilled it on themselves.
Then sued. then even more ridiculous, won.
.
2.) The person who recently ate too much popcorn, got sick, then sued the Co.
And he won, too.
.
When did we stop taking responsibility for our own stupid actions?
.
Maybe banning stupid lawsuits would be a big step.
.
And/Or charging more for Health Insurance to those who have no disease or other reason to be unhealthy or obese,
other than their food choices. And less for those of us that tend to make wise choices.
.
We have Credit Score ratings, why not Health Score ratings?
Based on objective, measurable data?

well said john!

in our society, where the poor choices of some affect the lifestyle of others is not exceptable.
i, for one, do not want to pay any more into my health care premiums ( as i pay a mortgage every month
to my healthcare provider- i pay solely for my own healthcare), due to the fact that a person
can't choose to drink water instead of a sugary drink, oversized meal or chooses to inhale something toxic.

unfortunately, very few people would admit to consuming huge amounts of inappropriate foods/drinks, if they
were indeed made to take responsibility for their actions...
along with this topic--goes---for those collecting welfare--why are the stipens allowed to be used for foods that
have NO nutritional values- like soda, chips and snack???
if you can't afford to feed your family/yourself--why ask the people (to pay with their taxes) for an unhealthy
lifestyle--so that in the not so distant future the healthcare system could take a big hit with all the medical issues that arise?!?!

Hi cranberrycat,

Now that you mention it ... juices ARE sugary in their own way, too, aren't they?

And therefore I would support a ban (improbable as such a ban would be) against juices too !!!!!

LOL ...

Ain't gonna happen though is it?

A

Nope, ban OJ? (the juice, not the ex-football palyer turned criminal)
Ban mama's from giving their babies their apple juice?
Of course not, it;s good for them! NOT!!!

no money to be made on healthy people (at least not by the pharmseudicla companies, medical professional)

it's no wonder the foods that are healthier for us are more $$
and the crap (in the middle of the supermarkets are always on sale with coupons)

oh well.... just have to keep growing my own organic veggies

LOL, am giggling as I read through all of this, thanks everyone for posting.

A few points/issues,
-the ban on selling the beverage is NOT infringing on any one person's rights to consume it, right? So, would it not really just be a ban on the seller to not sell that size beverage? And, if the seller makes more profit because he sold 2 beverages instead of one large beverage, isn't that benefitting him?
-Isn't this really supposed to be about promoting a healthy lifestyle? I am not aware of any ulterior motives (perhaps those who are closer to the situation might be able to enlighten me)
-should we ban the king-size candy bar? LOL
-I was going to throw in the issue of the smoking ban, but there is a valid risk/danger to others who are exposed, so that is really not comparable to this.
-a healthcare score (as compared to a credit score), Hmmm interesting idea, we are doing it right now at my place of employment. We do a yearly health risk assessment, and then we are scored on the results. We also do a wellness scorecard, that employees can score points for participating in routine wellness activities (I won't go into detail about it), and we incorporate any improvements to the HRA score into the wellness points. Right now, the higher the score, then the employee can be put into a drawing for fantastic prizes at the end of the year.

I agree with you all who feel that the control should be put into the hands of the person. I really do agree with that. However, health care costs are rising, people are living longer and yet suffering from chronic disease which ultimately stems from poor choices being made. It is costing EVERYONE more tax dollars in the long run.

Since I don't live in NYC, and not even close, I was just wondering how the people are currently dealing with this, how are they responding to it? Anyone know?

Another factor in the crappy, disease-inducing diets of many Americans is the fact that the USDA and the ADA -- whose business is "public health" -- are swayed from the SCIENCE of nutrition by the gazillions of dollars they get from their corporate sponsors (including junk food companies and big pharma companies that make diabetes drugs).

To see this for yourself, go to the ADA website, scroll to the bottom and click "advertising and sponsorship." Then, click "learn more" under "sponsorship," and then click on "current sponsors." You'll learn more, that's for sure. You'll see Coca Cola, Pepsi, and more...

Because of the same type of thing, the USDA's latest food recommendations still say it's ok to get half of your grains as refined grains. This is due to immense pressure from the food industry. And while they do say to cut back on sugary drinks like soda, they say to replace it with fruit juice, which is just as bad. Yes, fruit juice will provide vitamins...while causing fatty liver, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. I believe a glass of OJ contains the juice of 6 oranges -- quite a bolus of fructose! -- and with no fiber to slow down the absorption.

Also, while the USDA warns us about the dangers of fat, their marketing organization, known by the name "Dairy Management," unloaded surplus whole milk and milk fat (left over in part because of their own efforts to get people to drink skim milk!) onto Domino's pizza and others in a huge campaign to increase sales by offering cheese-laden pizzas. The “Summer of Cheese” promotion Dairy Management developed with Pizza Hut in 2002 generated the use of 102 million additional pounds of cheese.

This country struggles with the health care crisis, which is only getting worse...the number of people with type 2 diabetes is predicted to explode in the near future, and it doesn't matter what we do, we can never afford that! Diet is a major part of the solution to this crisis. Obviously more factors come into play, but diet-related illness is rampant and unaffordable and preventable, much of the time. People should be outraged.

That's my 2 cents.

Amen....well said