New York City Sidelines Super-Size Sodas

The New York's Board of Health passed a law restricting the size of sodas sold in certain public arenas, the Wall Street Journal said, over objections that the law represented government run amok. The vote was unanimous. The anti-obesity measure is scheduled to take effect in March 12. But the New York Times notes the soft-drink industry is poised to strike, potentially filing a lawsuit to upend the provision if they can't persuade Mayor Michael Bloomberg to back down.

* The unique ban would bar restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas, food carts and delis from selling sodas and other sugar-laden drinks in servings larger than 16 ounces, according to the Associated Press.

* While the Bloomberg administration depicts the law as a reasonable curb on obesity, which costs the city billions of dollars, critics mock it as evidence of a "nanny state," the AP said.

* The majority of New York City residents opposed the measure in recent polls, according to the Wall Street Journal.

* The Board received 38,000 written and oral comments including a 20-minute presentation by the Bloomberg administration refuting critics' objections just before the vote, the Wall Street Journal said.

* Legal experts cited by the AP suggest any legal battle will likely hinge on whether city rules on food sizes usurp federal authority rather than infringement of personal freedoms.

* It was New York City that spurred the now-national trend of banning trans fats in restaurant foods, the Times noted. The trans-fat ban was never challenged in court, the AP pointed out, so the question whether the state was infringing Food and Drug Administration authority in passing the ban wasn't addressed.

* According to AP, the soda limitations translate into a 200-calorie serving limitation. For a person drinking on soda per day for a year, the difference between the 200 calories in a 16-ounce drink and the 240 in a 20-ounce size is equivalent to four pounds of body fat.

* In proposing the law, the city said 58 percent of its adults are overweight or obese and 20 percent of its children are obese. It cited sugary drinks as a primary contributor to the obesity epidemic.

* According to 2009 data cited in the proposal, 44 percent of New York children age 6 to 12 drink more than one sugary drink per day while 26 percent of high school students reported drinking two or more such beverages in the week preceding the survey.

Carol Bengle Gilbert writes about consumer issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-city-sidelines-super-size-sodas-181900202--finance.html

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