Sugar Busters

Extra-Large Sugary Drinks May Be Banned in NYC

05/31/2012

Late last night New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Big Apple is planning to ban the sale of any container of sugar-sweetened drinks larger than 16 fluid ounces from delis, restaurants, sports arenas, movie theaters, and other places regulated by the city health department. However, drinks with fewer than 25 calories per 8 ounces, diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks (think lattes and milkshakes), and alcoholic beverages are all fair game.

The move is radical, but not surprising considering that some school districts have banned sugary drinks from vending machines and cafeterias. It also follows several public health changes Bloomberg has enacted in office, including adding visible calorie counts to every item on fast food chains’ menus.

Obesity is a complex condition, but most experts agree that sugar-sweetened drinks are a big contributor to our expanding waistlines. A 20-ounce regular soda has approximately 240 calories and 16 teaspoons of sugar! That’s more than 10% of the calories most women should be consuming each day! These liquid calories are especially dangerous because they don’t make you full like eating 240 calories worth of pretzels would.

Studies show that drinking soda can also put you at risk for a variety of different health concerns. One 12-ounce sugar-sweetened drink can a day raise a man’s risk of heart disease by 20% compared to those who abstained, according to a 2008 study, and a 2010 study found that drinking one to two sugary drinks per day increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26%.

If that’s not enough to convince you, cutting back on sugar can appeal to your vanity, too. Drinking one less serving of sugary drinks a day was associated with a weight loss of 1.1 pounds after 6 months. Not too bad for making one simple change.

Unsurprisingly, this initiative has its fair share of critics. Many worry that this change may encourage people to purchase multiple bottles or head to the grocery stores to get their fix, while others are concerned that sugary drinks are just a small part of the obesity problem. However, Bloomberg and other proponents think it may make some people cut back on their (soda) drinking habit. What do you think?