A little while back New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, had proposed that “licensed food service establishments” be prohibited in serving caloric beverages (pop) in any container larger than 16 oz. People can order more than one drink but the serving sizes cannot be any larger. More recently, the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts followed suit “saying she was inspired by a similar measure in New York City”. Is this soda ban a legitimate argument? The article is here for you to read.
Have you ever seen Saturday Night Live’s “Point/Counterpoint” on the Weekend Update? I’m no comedian but let’s give this a shot: here is my opinion on both sides of the argument.
For the proposal: We can’t drink/consume calories we don’t have. Given how large our country is getting this could slowly help with the obesity crisis. “But Groupie, people can limit the amount they drink!” to this I ask, “Can they??” I know many people who will consume what is in front of them without giving any thought to whether or not they need it. I mean, have you always turned down a slice of warm, cheesy pizza that was offered to you even if you already had a sensible dinner? If so, good for you – you are listening to your body. If not though, I think it’s safe to say you are in the majority. It’s hard to turn down something that you have available and in front of you. Also, the problem with liquid calories is that our bodies don’t feel full with them. A 200 calorie soda is not going to make you feel as full as a 200 calorie sandwich. But guess what, your body doesn’t care; it’s going to take those (possibly) excess calories and store them as fat.
Against the proposal: I’m an adult, I get to choose what and how much of something I want to consume; this mayor shouldn’t act like my parent. Besides, I can’t buy a 20 ounce beverage but I can buy two 16 ounces of the same beverage? That doesn’t make much sense. Now you’re just making me pay more for my pop!
As you can see, I can’t decide where I stand on this. I’m a waverer. What do you think about this proposal? And what are your reasons for or against it?