Suddenly a medium is 40 oz....

by Anonymous 12 years ago

That's what I thought of instantly.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't think it's a particularly effective way of fighting obesity, but it certainly won't do any harm. If people really, really want that much soda, they can just get two smalls.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's ridiculous because there are flaws (refills, buying more than one) and because the true way to fight obesity is to educate the public on healthy eating versus processed foods. All the same, it is something proactive in the fight against obesity in America. But it's being done the wrong way

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's not proactive, it's reactive. The legislatures are reacting to the rise in obesity levels.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But processed foods taste yummy

by Anonymous 12 years ago

just buy more than one

by Anonymous 12 years ago

WE ARE!?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Just the city. Bloomberg announced it. I think the gesture is good, but the law is beyond ridiculous. Attempting to restrict how much people eat is definitely impeding on freedom

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Do you think banning trans fat in restaurants was bad, too? What about the calorie counts?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah I do think that was bad. Let people do what they want.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I am in the city, and this concerns me (even though I don't like soda, it's too fizzy...)

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah I really hate when the government tries to fight the obesiety epidemic. How dare they try to take a step in improving the health of the nation!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Lets ignore that giant step towards socialism! Good thinking!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Am I alone in thinking socialism isn't inherently bad? I think some socialistic policies might actually be helpful to society if executed properly

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But its impossible to execute properly.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

So you're saying that trying to set regulations for better health standards is going to lead to a socialist state? Yeah sure its not the best idea ever, but maybe regulating how much soda people intake could help lead to a healthier lifestyle.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Would it be fair to regulate how many coke bottles and cans that coke is allowed to sell?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's not just that. They're trying to ban drinks with sugar that are larger than 16 oz. in that case, bottles of Gatorade wouldn't even be legal and I would not make a case that those cause unhealthy lifestyle

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If you were to compare the serving sizes of drinks and meal proportions from the 50's/60's to now, you would notice a severe increase in size. The high rates of obesity correlate with those size increases. Why do people have a problem with this? There's nothing wrong with sensible portions.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm happy with that, just like I'm happy that they banned trans fat in our restaurants and made calorie counts mandatory on the order boards in large restaurant chains. I also like how they banned smoking in all public parks and eating areas. It is proactive, gets immediate results, and is probably better for us in the end. This post should probably specify NYC, though. I don't think the state will do it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I think it's great.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I step closer to eradicating the obesity epidemic. I think it is great decision. They should ban the medium as well while they are at it. The medium is actually like 3x bigger than it is in Canada which is pretty disgusting!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I think it's absolutely ridiculous for so many reasons. It's NOT the state's place to making choices for the people. It's just not. It's also not their place to be policing peoples' bodies. I just HATE the term "Obesity epidemic". Bodies are NOT diseases, they're bodies. It's a horribly objectifying term. Not to mention the size of sodas has MAYBE only a teeny tiny little effect on the average weight of a person. Everybody's body is different. Someone maybe have a healthy lifestyle and be 300 pounds, someone may drink 20 oz of soda everyday and not pass 115. And even if you are 300 pounds making unhealthy choices, then who cares? It's NONE of the states business what someone's body looks like. As a side not, when it comes to increasing average weight, it has a lot more to do with education (or lack thereof) and economics. Unhealthy food in a lot of communities IS in fact cheaper, faster, and easier. As for education, keep giving people their choice they have the right to, but make the education for those choices more available. TL;DR: The law is body-shaming and stereotyping while being completely ineffective anyway.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Body shaming? Is that what you think this is about? Have you no idea that our serving sizes have led to a myriad of problems? Not only for adults either, childhood diabetes has skyrocketed in recent years, as well as certain cancers related to our poor diet. Body image has nothing to do with it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It is most certainly body-shaming. The law is supposed to help "fight the obesity epidemic" not "benefit the overall health of the people" (even then I'd still disagree with it, but that's not my point right now). Because obviously skinny people only eat healthy and obese people only eat unhealthy. It sends a message that fat=unhealthy all or most of the time.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Let's keep in mind it isn't like soda is being rationed or anything. You can still drink as much as you want.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

New York - famous for their pizza, bagels, hotdogs, and cheesecake but want to battle obesity by banning large soft drinks. Hmm.

by Anonymous 12 years ago