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NYC wants to ban sales of large soda drinks

Haven|1338517756|3207059 said:
I wonder, though, if there are ways we can help curb childhood obesity, even a little bit.
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Yes -- work in the schools to have healthier lunches served; bring back gym classes; take away or limit their gadgets that promote a sedentary lifestyle. Educate, educate, educate parents. Support buy local endeavors. Grow some veggies at home. Kick their little butts outside and make them move. Set an example for a healthier lifestyle. Slow down -- part of the problem with current lifestyles is that parents are running to and fro trying to make a living and fast food is easier to do.
 
I agree with all that, Matata.

I believe my state (Illinois) is the only state to have mandated PE in public schools.

A friend of mine just purchased 10 acres of land in upstate New York as part of a nonprofit she's started to help get fresh produce to children whose families live in food deserts. It's a pretty cool idea.

When I taught HS the cafeteria options were dismal--soggy pizza, cheeseburgers, fries, fried dough sticks covered in cinnamon and sugar (can't remember what they were called,) and a teeny tiny area to have a sandwich made to order. But the sandwich line was incredibly slow, and only the kids who got to the caf first could wait long enough to get a sandwich and actually eat it before the end of their lunch period.
Of course, parents could, you know, send the kids to school with healthy lunches. But that doesn't help the population that receives free and reduced lunch.
 
TristanC|1338481754|3206789 said:
In Singapore a long time ago (i forget when, as I was still in school - easily more than a decade ago), the government banned chewing gum.

The given reason was that it cost hundreds of man hours to clear it off the sidewalks (those ugly black stains that never go away), inconvenienced others, and had at one point also delayed commuters as people stuck it in between train doors, that were rigged to open up when it closed onto a physical obstruction - in this case some twit's gum, as a safety measure should someone's finger get caught for example.

Those were the stated reasons. There were others I'm sure.

The whole world jumped on the bandwagon and made it into a classic example of nanny state nonsense and a ridiculous loss of civil rights and just sheer and utter stupidity.

20 years or so on... gum has come back. Meanwhile 2 whole generations grew up without it... and streets are cleaner. People just don't have the habit to chew gum often.

It isn't a big deal. One way or the other.

Personally, I think it is a good move. Most people would never omit sugar from their diet voluntarily. So stepping in for everyone's well being is actually a brave call. Yes it does piss everyone off in the short run, but hey, sometimes people need to make that kind of call for the better good.

My 2 cents.
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Threadjack:

You mean it's not banned there anymore? I hate chewing gum. I never chew it myself because I find no joy in chewing something that has flavor for about 45 seconds and then is just an annoying wad of goop. I manage to step in gum about 3 times every summer and on one fine hot day I actually stepped in it and SAT on it (park bench) on the same day! Yes, I need to pay more attention to my surroundings. Anyway, I am alway saying that the stuff should be banned like it is in Singapore and now I can't say that anymore.

I believe it's still banned at the Orlando airport and Disney World...for good reason. Can't have gum mucking up the magic!
 
I don't know what to think on this one. During my travels, I've noticed that US fast food restaurants have much much larger cups than anywhere else. Recently, some chains that exist in Canada and the US (cough cough Wendy's) have changed our cup sizes to mimic US cups.

To be honest people laughed and the predominant sentiment among my social group was "no wonder so many Americans are obese" (Canadians are too, but yeah, the huge pop that can barely be crammed into a car cupholder just doesn't make a good argument towards health).

I think everything in general should be smaller. Our new coffee sizes that were introduced earlier this year are ridiculous.

For the most part, you can't buy a 2L fountain pop in Europe.

Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
 
Haven-shut the front door, there's such a thing as Thin Mint ice cream? Oh my stars..must...resist..

Our schools don't have crazy stuff on the menu's..I don't know about in the lunch room at the high school, if they have vending machines and such, but the menu London gets sent home every month is the same for all three schools. I highly recommend the scalloped potatoes and ham..they know I'll be visiting that day. There's a few overweight kids in the elementary school, but out of about 400 I think that's pretty good. Maybe b/c we're out in the boonies there's just nothing to do *but* play outside?

The thing of it is, there's only so much the schools can do, you know? They could put the kids on a strict diet like my brother eats-chicken/oatmeal/veggies, that's IT, no desserts, no gloopy syrupy fruits, and that would help while they're at school, but at home...You can mess up a lot of good eating during a summer vacation of sitting around in the house eating cheetos. Heck, I can wreck a good diet just in a weekend. Parents are too busy, and everyone is go go go all the time.

You don't have to walk over to a friends house anymore, kids can just text or email or use their phones, and you don't have to play together in person, you can play FB games on your phone/computer from your own house. In this day and age I think you'd have to subsidize it. Seriously. Parents don't/won't take the time to encourage their kids to eat better and play more-there's too much other stuff going on. I remember talk about paying kids in school to get good grades-the school was going to pay them as incentive. And give them days off from school for good grades! Come ON.

We lived out in the country, miles from town, and that was back in the non electronic days. If we so much as flopped down on the couch and gave a big heavy sigh during weekends or summer vacation, we'd hear "You want me to FIND something for you to do?" and we'd tear ass out the door to go play lest we be made to clean our rooms.
 
Maria D|1338523665|3207103 said:
Threadjack:

You mean it's not banned there anymore? I hate chewing gum. I never chew it myself because I find no joy in chewing something that has flavor for about 45 seconds and then is just an annoying wad of goop. I manage to step in gum about 3 times every summer and on one fine hot day I actually stepped in it and SAT on it (park bench) on the same day! Yes, I need to pay more attention to my surroundings. Anyway, I am alway saying that the stuff should be banned like it is in Singapore and now I can't say that anymore.

I believe it's still banned at the Orlando airport and Disney World...for good reason. Can't have gum mucking up the magic!
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The ban had to be lifted due to a free trade agreement - or some such nuance. The government got around it by legislating that they will take incremental steps - first they will only allow gum that meets dental needs. Such as prevention of dry breath, tooth whitening etc.

What i mean is... Singaporeans in general just don't miss gum. It was a great intervention, for all the stupid press and crap that the government got for it.

I honestly wish they would just ban sugary drinks. Might improve my life. There are days that I want choice taken from me.

Oh and ban macarons while you're at it thanks.
 
I'm in the minority here that I think the ban is a good one. One thought is that kids see supersize products everywhere and start to think this is normal. As adults, most of us grew up NOT seeing these mega meals so we have the ability to see the connection between these larger meals and the growing waistlines that result. Kids don't have that understanding unless parents tell them. But, do parents do so? Not if they're ordering the supersize drinks because they know it's part of their weight problem and don't want to admit this to their children. Maybe if the overall reduction in supply of huge portions is taken out of mainstream food advertising, it'll bring the balance back into what kids see as an appropriate sized meal.

So, although I'm not for a "nanny state," I think it's more about making it less commonly seen by younger generations as a part of a standard meal.
 
Prana|1338506257|3206961 said:
Matata|1338500154|3206930 said:
I really have a personal vendetta against high fructose corn syrup. I don't drink soda, but I don't like the fact that we don't even have the option of buying soda made with cane sugar (unless it's a specialty brand)without ordering it from a specialty store. It's disgusting.
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We have quite a few grocery stores with natural foods around here. In fact, it's the norm so we have quite a selection. What bugs me is that many of the brands have TONS of real sugar in them. Hansen's Blue Sky Soda Black Cherry soda has 37 grams of sugar in one can. My older son likes Izzy soda so we have a rule that he gets one on Fri night and Sat night and that is it (each bottle has 27 grams of sugar). He's learned it's a treat. Luckily, he's fine with that.
 
calories

20 oz coke = 243
20 oz Starbucks Venti (2% milk) = 240
20 oz apple juice = 300
20 oz 2% milk = 300

I can't imagine drinking 20 oz anything at one sitting!
 
I guess I don't see why this would be so bad. To me it's no different than banning smoking in public--sure, some folks will grouse but it benefits people in the long run.
 
The government should ban people making poor decisions.

Maybe their scientists could transmit some special frequency from cellphone towers that makes us crave brown rice, tofu, broccoli and exercise.
 
I think this is a bit ridiculous.

The ban does not extend to a giant Starbucks Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha which packs in 560 calories or a Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino which has 410 calories. Why? Because it has "dairy". :rolleyes:

Also, 7-Elevens are exempt. The big gulp is alive and well.

Free refills are not exempt.

What is the first thing most people do when they start to get chunky? The start slurping down diet drinks. It won't even "help" those that it's intended to "help".

The whole thing is another nanny law. :rolleyes:

The anti-obesity thing is another plot of the insurance companies, to "increase our health" which really means "decrease the claims they have to pay out". If someone chooses to become dangerously obese, that's their right, an individual freedom, sick as it is. But what about the "cost to society"? Doesn't that really mean the "cost to the insurance companies"?

Those expensive old people are next. You'll see it in news stories about "the quality of life" of older, sicker individuals, the "burden to families" for their care, "millions of dollars for only a few months of life," etc., etc. Mark my words, the PR machines will kick in. I'm not saying "death panels" are in the offing (that's just political BS), I'm just saying I see the the insurance companies' writing on the wall, and everyone's buying it.
 
Yeah, I really don't need more government in my life. Whatever happened to natural selection? Let people drink all the calories they want! Why do we need more laws/rules/regulations/bans telling people how to live their lives--if they are bound and determined to live an unhealthy lifestyle, let them. There's your population control, sorry. Smoking bans are different, imo. It doesn't harm anyone else if one chooses to drink a 32 oz. gas station soda, but it does hurt others if one chooses to smoke in public places so I am pro-smoking bans.
 
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monarch64|1338582928|3207459 said:
Yeah, I really don't need more government in my life. Whatever happened to natural selection? Let people drink all the calories they want! Why do we need more laws/rules/regulations/bans telling people how to live their lives--if they are bound and determined to live an unhealthy lifestyle, let them. There's your population control, sorry. Smoking bans are different, imo. It doesn't harm anyone else if one chooses to drink a 32 oz. gas station soda, but it does hurt others if one chooses to smoke in public places so I am pro-smoking bans.
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I think this is a really good point, and I completely agree.

Packie--Let me apologize for introducing the concept of Thin Mint ice cream to you. I'm so sorry. I hope Thin Mints don't have the same pull on you as they do on me. I cannot resist them, in any way, shape, or form. A couple weeks ago I saw it in the ice cream section at the grocery store and did a little happy dance, took a carton home, and ate a bowl of it for dinner that night. (Perhaps legislators should look into grocery-buying rules for just barely pregnant women. My basket has been full of some crazy things lately.)

I agree that the schools can only do so much, and as an educator I believe that society blames the schools for far too many of our ills in the first place, and expects them to solve things that are way out of education's reach. However, if legislators want to put laws into effect to help combat obesity, I feel like the food we make available to children through government institutions is the most obvious place to start. This also seems like the least offensive place to regulate availability of food, at least to me, since they already have their hands on everything else that kids are exposed to in schools. Heck, my high school had a Subway *inside* our cafeteria, yet most kids STILL ate a burger and fries with a Coke every day. If the burger and fries and Coke weren't available, guess what we would have eaten?

This whole situation has me laughing a bit too because of something I learned from an au pair who took one of my classes last year. This au pair was from Germany, and she was shocked at the sizes and quality of food served by our McDonald's restaurants. (This particular class of mine focuses on the theme of food ethics, so we talked about food quite a bit.) She told us that shortly after McDonald's came to Germany the people were up in arms about the poor quality of the food, and basically forced McDonald's to up their game and provide healthier options. What's funny to me is that we get what we demand, yet here in America we don't demand much so legislation is coming from the top down to change things. In Germany, they didn't stand for the poor quality, and they didn't have to. In America, we clearly embrace it, so that's exactly what we get. (Sorry I have no sources for you about the Germany situation. I don't even remember if she said this happened within recent years or a decade ago.)

I highly recommend the HBO series The Weight of the Nation. The first part alone shared statistics that are enough to make me believe that allowing your children to become obese is a form of child abuse. (In one study that followed 16,000 children from childhood to adulthood, over 70% of the individuals who were overweight as children because obese adults. Only 7% of the individuals who were of normal weight as children became obese adults.)
 
Haven, the Thin Mint cookies are quite possibly a gift from heaven..if the ice cream is anything like that then..I guess I hope our town is too small to carry it in the grocery store. :lickout:

Tim Minchin has a song called Fat Children..couple F words in it but it's funny and it's true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ElXYzFX_w
 
Thin Mint ice cream is like a gift from thedeityofyourchoice. I'm often moved to writing odes in its honor while eating it. Once, I considered penning a song. We are the two best friends that anyone could have.
 
Goh you make me want to run to the store just to check and see if they have it!
 
I'm sorry, I really am. I'm like an addict who knows it's bad to suck others in, but I can't help but extol the drug's virtues.

I also realize the irony of fessing up to my Thin Mint ice cream worship in a thread of this nature. I don't drink soda, but I eat a lot of ice cream. I hope legislators don't try to ban the sale of anything larger than a pint of ice cream.
 
Haven|1338517756|3207059 said:
This thread prompted me to watch HBO's Weight of the Nation. I'm only 30 minutes into the first part so far, but it's very interesting.

Packrat--I agree with everything you've said. I wonder, though, if there are ways we can help curb childhood obesity, even a little bit.

ETA: I'm eating ice cream too, Thin Mint ice cream, and I dare someone to try to take it away from me. I'm miserably sick with this pregnancy and it's the first time I've had an appetite all day, SO BACK OFF.
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NO ONE on this site is BRAVE enough to take on a preggie with a bowl of ice cream.. I assure you.. you and the ice cream are compeletely safe!!!! :bigsmile: And if you get grumpy.. someone will pick up one of those giant sodas... before they are outlawed!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Not sure what the fix is.. I get it, but control like this just breeds resistance not cooperation... problem is as has been said... people are not motivated... I can't tell you the last time I had a soda (except when I have a heachache.. it works better than an asprin for some reason.. in a can only coke, never diet...maybe it's the carbonation.. and I only have to drink half...)...
 
:bigsmile: MayK!
You should have seen my poor husband when I walked in to find that he had gotten into my Trader Joe's Australian licorice. I was rationing those little twists of amazing, and there he was just a-popping them into his mouth one right after the other. He's still not used to my sweet tooth, I'm more of a savory girl when I'm not knocked up. It's all good now, I found a new hiding spot for my goodies.

Sometimes I do feel like there is a conspiracy to keep America fat. It makes me sad. I have a particular soft spot for overweight children, they face a lot of unfair difficulties due to their weight and it breaks my heart.
 
Haven said:
Thin Mint ice cream is like a gift from thedeityofyourchoice. I'm often moved to writing odes in its honor while eating it. Once, I considered penning a song. We are the two best friends that anyone could have.
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Not gonna lie, there's some in my freezer right now. I did get the churned version which has fewer calories, so that helps, right?
 
Haven|1338601423|3207616 said:
:bigsmile: MayK!
You should have seen my poor husband when I walked in to find that he had gotten into my Trader Joe's Australian licorice. I was rationing those little twists of amazing, and there he was just a-popping them into his mouth one right after the other. He's still not used to my sweet tooth, I'm more of a savory girl when I'm not knocked up. It's all good now, I found a new hiding spot for my goodies.




I'm like this now...and not pregnant... But it is all about Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses... I just need three to calm the savage beast of a sweet tooth... Just three...
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Haven|1338601423|3207616 said:
:bigsmile: MayK!
You should have seen my poor husband when I walked in to find that he had gotten into my Trader Joe's Australian licorice. I was rationing those little twists of amazing, and there he was just a-popping them into his mouth one right after the other. He's still not used to my sweet tooth, I'm more of a savory girl when I'm not knocked up. It's all good now, I found a new hiding spot for my goodies.

Sometimes I do feel like there is a conspiracy to keep America fat. It makes me sad. I have a particular soft spot for overweight children, they face a lot of unfair difficulties due to their weight and it breaks my heart.
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Damn, this sounds good!
 
Haven, just kind of an FYI..I was never a sweet tooth girl, until I got pregnant w/my first. It never went away. :o

Kenny, ME TOO! I'm about obsessed w/him. My kids know the words to Woody Allen Jesus.
 
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