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The American Beverage Association is more than a little defensive about the city's new public awareness campaign which depicts human fat pouring out of cola, energy drink, and sweetened ice tea bottles. The ads, which are intended to educate the public about the high caloric content of sugary beverages, debuted yesterday, and Kevin Keane, a senior vice president at the Association, was quick to run to the Post: "It's absurd and over the top and unfortunately is going to undermine efforts to educate about a serious and complex issue like obesity." Also, why does government keep picking on soda? Earlier this year Governor Paterson proposed a tax on soda, which was successfully shot down by the beverage industry. Keane wonders, "Why aren't they going after cake? Why single out soft drinks?" But Cathy Nonas at the Health Department says, "It's just horrifying to see how many preschoolers are drinking these sugar-sweetened beverages" and even abusing sports drinks: "In terms of physical activity... water is the most important thing before, during and after an event." Well, the American Beverage Association has got kids covered on that because according to their website "all BEVERAGES provide hydration." Your move, cake!
Soda Companies Fight Back Against City's Human Fat Ads
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Check out this article from the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/20/090720crbo_books_kolbert
According to it, soft drinks account for 7% of all calories consumed in the American diet. That makes it the #1 most-consumed food product, and it's all empty calories. THAT'S why they're going after soft drinks and not cake.
Thank you.
Soda does not have "empty" calories. This is a term perpetuating by the same people who use assault rifle in their political vernacular.
Empty calorie is not a real term. Anything you eat can be considered an "empty" calorie if you want to play this game. The Wonder bread that 1000s will eat at lunch is worse than soda in many respects. Each have a similar glycemic index and no nutrients to speak of. At least soda has caffeine which can delay drowsiness and let you burn more calories.
Everything you eat can be considered if eaten in excess coupled with no exercise. Because if you eat a whole wheat bagel after gobs of junk and a sedentary day---well that bagel you ate is "empty".
If you want to split hairs, no, the term "empty calorie" may not be scientifically legitimate, but I still think it's a valid way to communicate "energy-dense with little other nutritional value." A whole wheat bagel is a better choice than a white bagel, but generally bagels could certainly be counted as empty, especially in tandem with the average daily American diet.
You're making my point. There's a lot of gray area here. More food items than one can imagine are really just not that good for you. Unless you're working out for 5 hours a day, you should only be eating 2000 calories of whole grains, fruits, veggies and lean meats or tofu.
So soda may be the #1 villain now, but who's to say what will be subject to attack next? Bureaucrats?
I would also love to know how many city workers in the DOH are slurping down sodas with their Wendy's lunch.
But...but...it's got what plants crave...
Win!
It's got electrolytes!
I fear that the idiocracy is coming! really. Funny movie, but I'm afraid that some day soon I will walk by Woodhull Hospital and it will say: Saint God's. sigh.
Corner stores, bodegas and pharmacies aren't stocked with hundreds of servings of cake at ~$1 each.
Just sayin.
What about the ones that stock Entenmann's and Hostess?
who u callin a Ho-ho?
such delicious calories, though
Soda makes you fat. Plain and simple. Corporations spend millions of dollars to find ways to obscure, manipulate, and make us forget the truth.
It's amazing how simple statements of facts are so loathed by corporate giants.
speaking of fattie arbuckles, that chris christie guy.
soda also rots your teeth. but once in a while is OK, just like red meat.
They don't target cake because people don't have cake every day like they do soda.
If there were still such a thing as personal responsibility and good parenting, people would be calling for the government to be their friggin' nanny.
*wouldn't
Unfortunately it doesn't exist. Stupid parents start their kids on the Mcdonalds and soda diets young while these companies laugh all the way to the bank.
Weird, it is almost like that Corporate Lobby doesn't care about the horrible impact on human health that their products cause...it is almost like they don't care about people at all....weird.
...oh well, I'm sure market forces will fix the problem! Now then, Senator...we were talking about corn subsidies, right?
These idiots will buy anything! I bet we could bottle water and they'd gobble em up!
-paraphrasing coca-cola execs
Not that I am defending Soda makers, since the should already be ethically held accountable for marketing crap to kids but.....
It's really all about diet, Soda (especially brands like Pepsi and Coke) are known all over the world....how come the world ins't fat? How come Japan ins't fat?
It's all about moderation. I never understood why Americans need "BIG SIZE" everything or need to drink Soda on a regular basis (especially large jugs on a single day).
In most other countries, Soda is seen as a treat and drinked on certain occasions, not a replacement for water (which Americans do).
Its not all what you eat. Some are genetically prone to becoming fat, so its more of a combination of factors. Even fast food choices in Japan have smaller portions than that in the US. Plus they tend to drink far less Soda than we do.
having been in tokyo last october, McDonals has the same exact size burgers as they have in the US, in fact, they even have a bigmac with 4 patties, two on each level. you can't get that in the US, you also can't get the japanese McDonalds' deep fried, potato bacon chedder pie, nor can you get the mc croquette (deep fried potato croquette on a bun available in holland and japan), or the shrimp croquette (breaded fried shripm patty on a bun).
Mos burger in Japan is a Japanese only fast food chain. it is delicious, and their burgers are jsut as big as ours, only they have way more mayo onthem, and if you can get one with cheese, it's a lot of cheese.
and that doesn't even mention 7-11, freshness burger, etc. etc. etc.
so, no, Japanese fast food is not in smaller portions.
I don't know ... I felt like it was, but then again I only went to McDonald's once there in all my years going. I'll need to make another fact-finding trip to Japan... so I can go to McDonalds.
But why go to McD's when theres Mos Burger? Soo Good.
Read the New Yorker article linked above. The developed world is getting fat.. fatter than the US actually. Japan is a outlier.
Reminds me of that segment in the heavily biased "documentary," Supersize Me. A married couple beyond morbidly obese getting ready for gastric bypass surgery admits they each drink at least four two-liter bottles of soda per day. That's nearly 4000 calories all by itself, all in very readily absorbable liquid form! Enough calories to almost sustain two regular people, before even counting the food they eat. Something tells me that couple is no thinner today than before the surgery.
There is nothing inherent to the documentary style that requires it to be neutral. In fact the history of documentaries has been quite the opposite.
OMG, *four* 2-liter bottles, everyday?
This is what I meant in my post above, you don't see many other coutries (even 1st world) drinking this amount in a month let a lone a day!
Although it's true that the 1st world is getting fatter (even Japan), but this has been happening since Globalization.
I used to drink one two-liter caffeine free Coke per day. Then around ten years ago I started chubbing up, so I stopped. Within a year I lost 20 pounds and it hasn't come back.
So the tax on soda was "shot down" by the industry? See how your elected representatives bow to the corporations. See how they SAY they want to protect your and your children's health, but when it comes down to it they want the money from those same corporations.
What are you going to do about it? Nothing, of course. Keep wasting your vote and keep drinking the soda they said would make you look cool. 350 lbs of wobbling, wheezing cool.
They will get around to cake eventually, and every other food, drink or activity the petty tyrants decide they think you shouldn't have anymore.
Yes, and George Bush is setting up FEMA concentration camps in Oklahoma!!!1
That would likely improve the desirability of living in Oklahoma.
You don't eat cake *with* a meal. You don't "wash down" a meal with cake. Cake, a solid, is somewhat filling, whereas a beverage goes right through your stomach.
But seriously, people still drink drinks with calories??? I haven't done so for years, and I still managed to get a little fat....
You don't "wash down" a meal with cake.
Exactly.
Personally if I'm going to drink a beverage containing calories, I should hope it also includes alcohol. Otherwise I generally stick to water, seltzer, and other unsweetened drinks.
From my experience it seems like 3rd world people drink soda in this way, they mostly drink it when mixing it alcohol.
With kids they drink it on birthdays or in the afternoon (during the time they get plenty of exercise outside).
It's really more of the sedentary lifestyle Americans have, especially when Amerians jug these soda beverages when they are sitting at home watching TV or playin video games.
The city should tax video games up the whazoo. These more than anything else keep kids lardy -- they're home in front of screens rather than playing ball in the streets and parks.
www.forgotten-ny.com
I think they should tax websites. If I was exercising all that time instead of perusing ForgottenNY.com, I'd be 10 pounds lighter. Wait, I'm already thin by most people's standards. Never mind.
where's that stock photo of that fat kid?
there should be more parks in the city and the last new YMCA I've seen open was the one in the Whole Foods.
but that type of planning isn't on the mayor's agenda, just like schools.
The city does offer free fitness classes: http://bit.ly/rxulY
and why must they sell gallon sized drinks at the movie theatre?
Yeah, it's unbelivable how you see people buy a mega jug of soda with a huge cup of butter fat popcorn....while sitting down...
I mean, of ocurse you're going to get fat! The additives like High Fructose Corn Syrup doesn't help either.
Because it's a massive profit source for them. They charge several dollars for that while it costs them probably 20¢ worth of soft drink syrup. Ditto for popcorn. Several bucks for a big bucket which probably cost 50¢ of unpopped kernels.
I thought high fructose corn syrup was the real culprit here.
...which the federal government indirectly created.
High Fructose corn syrup is a major culprit why Americans are fat, it's almost in everything. It's amazing how Corn Syrup can be in the most bizarre combinations from Noodles to chocolate.
It's just like ASPARTAME (which is in practically in every gum) which has been found to be very detrimental to the body.
As long as they don't mess with my Manhattan Specials!
Apparently the communist government of NY knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how much we need, alrighty then.
Nanny Bloomberg strikes again!
Why don't they educate people about the dangers of stupidity? It is much more detrimental to peoples health.
Will these signs be in 13 different languages? I see many non-English speaking folks giving their kids soda in a bottle while still in a stroller... Those folks who emigrated here from countries that have sewer water on tap may not be accustomed to drinking straight from the faucet. They prefer bottled items-ironically bottled sodas are sometimes cheaper than bottled water-at least in some corner markets. Even those who speak English, at least what I think sounds like English, prefer to eat meals from a cardboard bucket with a soda chaser–all while seated in a moving subway car. We need more social programs to educate people.
before this story, i was never aware that soda was such a big deal to adults.
I only drink diet pepsi, because regular soda is just too sweet...it tastes like drinking liquid sugar...Gross!
Total Bullshit. The body doesn't distinguish between a "good calorie" and a "bad calorie". Calories are calories if you're burning them for fuel. If you over consume, even those lovely "good calories" turn into, guess what? Ugly disgusting fat. HFCS is sugar extracted from corn, as opposed to a beet or a sugar cane, or a date, or your mother's fucking ass. Your body doesn't know or care about the difference. Kids get fat because they drink 4 or 5 cans of soda a day, when I was a kid I had one or two a week. Case solved.
Actually, HFCS is not at all natural. It's been heavily processed to increase the fructose content. As humans, we're not evolved to digest that much fructose daily. There's also the matter of fructose's glycation potential. If you drink that much fructose, you're just begging for increased cellular damage over time. Also, in sodas, you've got that sugar in liquid form. It doesn't get any easier to be absorbed into the bloodstream than that, unless you want a glucose IV. The body becomes less efficient at controlling blood sugar spikes as we grow older. Too high blood sugar means increased risk of insulin resistance and diabetes (not to mention memory decline due to damage to the dentate gyrus, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms). Complex carbs are infinitely preferable to fructose or even sucrose.
speaking from personal experience, if you want to lose pounds, simply cut out sugary drinks and that includes soda. Eat everything else the same as always. You are cutting huge calories from your diet. Easiest thing to do. Soda is not worth the calories. Fries? Yes please. Soda? Nope.
NOMNOMNOM
If you’re having trouble cutting back on sugary beverages, drinking more water throughout the day can help ease you out of your routine. Try drinking a glass of water every morning and a glass of water with every meal. Drinking water with your meal or snack, or a half-hour before, can help you keep from overeating too.
Our bodies are about 2/3rd liquid but we need water – not soda or sugar-sweetened beverages. Having a water bottle with you can help ensure you have water when you’re thirsty. You can also refill it at the nearest water fountain or sink when you run out – NYC tap water is delicious and refilling your water bottle means you won’t be littering the environment with empty plastic bottles. If you’re missing the fizz, have some seltzer instead. No calories and no sugar. Add a slice of orange or lemon to it for some fruit taste.
Another delicious drink is taking a fruit-flavored tea bag and let it flavor your tap water in the frig. That’s a healthy way to get your favorite berry taste without the calories!
Finally, don’t forget low-fat milk. It’s cool, delicious and chock full of nutrients.
But, if you must have a soda, or are in the process of decreasing the number of sodas you consume – drink a sugar-free or diet soda. They are at least calorie-free.
If you want more tips on how to decrease the number of sugary beverages you drink, I’m blogging at the Health Department’s nychealthy blog -- http://pulse.typepad.com/nychealthy/
I am the Director of the Health Department’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Programs and a nutritionist.
There is actually no minimum requirement listed with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines because people don’t need them to live. As a matter of fact, people of all ages, would be much healthier if they left the sugar drinks on the shelves and drank water and low-fat milk instead.
As other posters have pointed out, at the end of the day, what you do with your body is up to you. If you don’t want to take this information seriously, don’t. I would love to hear why though. I am blogging at the NYC Health Department’s online nychealthy page – http://pulse.typepad.com/nychealthy/
I am Director of the Health Department’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Program and a nutritionist.
Hey! Super Big Gulp! I get that all the time! Cool pic.
Cause the Double Gulp is just too big and the Big Gulp is too small.
"Why aren't they going after cake?" Awww. LMAO.
It is ironic that City is instituting this ad campaign, wasn't it Mayor Bloomberg who pushed against all the elected officials, parent/teacher groups to get Snapple machines into every public school so that kids could have sugary water instead of healthy drinks like milk, water, etc?