Will banning Big Gulps in NYC really save people from obesity?
Published on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 by BY PAM STEVENS | MANAGING EDITORRead More Editorial
Don’t lawmakers and politicians have anything better to do than to take away their constituents’ freedom of choice when it comes to soda pop size?
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is lobbying to do just that—ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces at restaurants, movie theaters, food carts and delis claiming that it will help curb obesity within the city.
As Bloomberg told the New York Times, “Obesity is a nationwide problem, and all over the United States, public health officials are wringing their hands saying, ‘Oh, this is terrible.’ New York City is not about wringing your hands; it’s about doing something.”
But isn’t there something else that can be done like encouraging exercise in schools and teaching children good habits through the education system so they become adults who have already been instilled with the tools for healthy behavior?
As a visitor of late, to that beautiful city, I can state with certainty that this change in NYC’s administrative code, would not only effect the over 8 million people who live there but also the millions of visitors who come to the city each year.
Do we really need the government telling us how much sugar our drinks can have? What’s next, are they going to limit the size of the ice cream scoops we buy or the amount of tortilla chips we snack on at Mexican restaurants?
While many have argued that taking away a citizen’s choice of soft drink size is not what this country is based on, Bloomberg has an answer for that as well.
He told the “Today” show “That is not exactly taking away your freedoms. It is not something the Founding Fathers fought for.”
But didn’t they fight for our right to be left alone to make our own choices?
I think that Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald stated it perfectly when he wrote, “The Founders, he (Michael Bloomberg) says, did not fight for 32-ounce sodas. But the Ninth and Tenth amendments suggest the Founders did intend to protect people’s right to make their own decisions, to live their lives free of unwarranted government interference, to be left the heck alone. The Founders understood something that sometimes escapes would-be reformers. Namely, that there are things the law cannot do. And shouldn’t even try.”
For some reason I just keep thinking it’s a good thing that the wildly popular television show NCIS takes place in Washington D.C. and not NYC. How would the crime scene investigators solve their cases without Abby and her 64-ounce Caf-Pows?
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is lobbying to do just that—ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces at restaurants, movie theaters, food carts and delis claiming that it will help curb obesity within the city.
As Bloomberg told the New York Times, “Obesity is a nationwide problem, and all over the United States, public health officials are wringing their hands saying, ‘Oh, this is terrible.’ New York City is not about wringing your hands; it’s about doing something.”
But isn’t there something else that can be done like encouraging exercise in schools and teaching children good habits through the education system so they become adults who have already been instilled with the tools for healthy behavior?
As a visitor of late, to that beautiful city, I can state with certainty that this change in NYC’s administrative code, would not only effect the over 8 million people who live there but also the millions of visitors who come to the city each year.
Do we really need the government telling us how much sugar our drinks can have? What’s next, are they going to limit the size of the ice cream scoops we buy or the amount of tortilla chips we snack on at Mexican restaurants?
While many have argued that taking away a citizen’s choice of soft drink size is not what this country is based on, Bloomberg has an answer for that as well.
He told the “Today” show “That is not exactly taking away your freedoms. It is not something the Founding Fathers fought for.”
But didn’t they fight for our right to be left alone to make our own choices?
I think that Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald stated it perfectly when he wrote, “The Founders, he (Michael Bloomberg) says, did not fight for 32-ounce sodas. But the Ninth and Tenth amendments suggest the Founders did intend to protect people’s right to make their own decisions, to live their lives free of unwarranted government interference, to be left the heck alone. The Founders understood something that sometimes escapes would-be reformers. Namely, that there are things the law cannot do. And shouldn’t even try.”
For some reason I just keep thinking it’s a good thing that the wildly popular television show NCIS takes place in Washington D.C. and not NYC. How would the crime scene investigators solve their cases without Abby and her 64-ounce Caf-Pows?
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