NYC Large sugary drink ban proposed

LET'S SEE - they raised the price of cigarettes to $5-7.00 per pack and it didn't stop the smokers. People need to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OBESITY. Its not Coca-Cola's fault !!!

cigs here are $15

no one is punishing coke.

The summer is coming here fast.

Most kids in NYC have both parents working and they arent gonna choose water after school. They all do the same freaking thing I do. Run into the bodega and buy a BIG FAT ARIZONA. Hopefully. Instead of soda. Since Arizona's have from 120-200 cals in the whole bottle but the teas actually have little bitty bits of nutritional value.

But if these kids run into the bodega and only have healthier options, I consider it a freaking WIN.

Bodegas can still sell soda bottles at any size. This only prevents places that serve fountain drinks from selling non-diet soda over 20oz.

My bad, all our bodegas in BK have fountain thingies

Most States do not. Have a look at HBOs recent 'weight of the nation' doc for more info

http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

But I guess that you would support such a move, which, as I was trying to point out, is an example of government intervention in 'private' health matters.

Really? I saw a list on the PBS website and the majority of states did. The list was outdated but I can't imagine all of the states have changed their policy.

Your link was just to the main Weight of the Nation page. No information about PE classes immediately obvious to me.

And yeah, I do think there should be mandatory PE classes in public school. You know why? Because it's public school. Taxpayers are paying for it so if there is a vote to add mandatory PE then I have no issue with it.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/shpps/2006/factsheets/pdf/FS_PhysicalEducation_SHPPS2006.pdf

This shows that the majority of schools have a mandatory PE program. That's from your HBO website

That document is about the schools themselves requiring PE, rather than the government.

Anyway, as I was saying, my point is that in countries where governments take public health seriously and promote healthy living, people are... healthier! It isn't a question of society vs the government. It's OUR government, and it can and should play a role in tackling the obesity crisis. Whatever the US is doing at the moment, it clearly aint working, and I don't believe that's because US citizens are less responsible or lazier or greedier than people in other countries. Its because they are living in a toxic food environment.

What? The state government is the thing making these schools have a PE program. Just because it isn't the federal government doesn't mean it's not some form of government.

I think you're a bit confused. I live in the UK, and though there are considerably less obese people (from what I've seen) the trend is the same as everywhere else - wealthier people are thinner, and poor people are fatter. The thin people aren't thin because the government told them to be, they're thin because they can afford frequent grocery trips and healthy food and have the time and money to go to the gym every day. The poor people are fatter because they can only afford to grocery shop once a month and therefor need to buy long-life food that is worse for them. They also work longer hours so they do not have time for exercise or the money for the gym. I'm sure most of the less fortunate people would like to be healthier, but it simply isn't in their budget. The government telling them how bad the food is that they're eating won't change their financial situation. The government telling them that they should exercise won't change that they don't have time to exercise.

If the government wants to do something, they could stop subsidizing the corn/sugar/etc industry. By doing that they are driving down costs for the manufacturer and making unhealthy food cheaper.

FAIL! This is inaccurate. My family of 6 (me, husband and 4 kids) rely on one income. My school-teacher husbands income. We are considered above poverty level, and lower-middle class is stretching it. We eat fruit and veggies at every meal. We don't have gym memberships. It is more expensive for our family to eat at McDonald's than it is to sit down and have a healthy meal with all the macros. Seriously. My husband tallies it up, and it averages between $10-$12 dollars a meal. A sit-down restaurant for our family is never less than $40. You just have to know how to shop. My kids are incredibly healthy and not even overweight. The truth is, to actually eat healthy involves meal-planning, turning on your oven and actually taking time to cook and prepare. It's far easier to load up the car and go to Burger King.

If most families operated like yours there would not be 35% obesity in this country. Sadly, that is not the case which makes this an anecdotal example. A family of 6 can eat off of the dollar menu at most fast food for 18 dollars, and not have to prepare a thing at home. When both parents work that is apparently an attractive option.

My point being that for a little work, smart shopping and meal planning, a family of 6 can eat very healthy for LESS than it would cost to eat at McDonalds.

I never mentioned McDonalds. I mentioned bulk buying processed foods at the grocery store. Think a case of poptarts from Sam's, not McDonalds.

What I said is a real thing. Just because your family can do it doesn't mean others can. I highly doubt a single mother working full time would have much time to plan out her meals, shop for the food a few times a week and then prepare the food after her shift.

I think it's a great idea. Kinda - it's a step in the right direction but it's a drop in the ocean.

They need to also ban the constant bombardment of ads on tv and billboards advertising junk food. You just can't get away.

I agree 100%!!! Companies need to stop being allowed to advertise to kids so much. Has anybody watched Nickelodeon lately??!! McDonald's advertises almost every other commercial. Kids know what buttons to push to drive mom & dad nuts so they give in. Sure mom & dad have a responsibility to monitor what their children eat, but every parent has their breaking point of the tantrums and whining and crying and bugging.

My kids watch cartoons and thus are exposed to all the advertisements as well. I could care less how much they whine and cry and bug me to buy McDonald's food...(or anything else that is advertised on tv). You know why? Because they are NOT getting it unless I say so. My kids don't whine, cry and bug me because if they know if they did, I wouldn't take them. And I'd probably pull the plug on the tv too.

And I do take my kids to McD's on occasion.

Parenting requires a backbone.

The government has NO RIGHT to dictate what we eat and drink! We should make the decisions ourselves.

What's next? Are you willing to give up your rights? Cuz I know I'm not...I think it's time to move to a different country or take this one back!
:noway: :explode:

I saw the edit, but the pictures still said a lot.

Government needs to stop interfering with natural selection IMO. We do too much to try to preserve the quality of life for people who nature would have given the ax to long ago and we're all the worse for it today.

Anyone who's old enough to be able to read will know not to eat the packets that come with electronics. They know it's not chiclets/candy. Letting the ones who are too stupid to be able to apply common sense to these situations die before they can breed is nature's way and the government needs to quit getting in the way of that. This is the same concept. Pretty sure every obese person out there knows the nachos, burritos, pasta, fast food, fried chicken, and endless supplies of candy aren't exactly nutritious. It's up to them to do something about it. Not Big Brother.

I saw the edit, but the pictures still said a lot.

Pictures where simply representing that people do not exercise and over eat unhealthy foods. Hence the mcdonalds pic and the people using machines instead of legs to walk and exercise. Point being I do not thing banning large drinks containing sugar is going to do much but just take away another freedom we have.

If the govenment wants to fight obesity it must educate people on obesity. They should have nutrition classes manditory in school and bring back physical education.