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In reply to the discussion: New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks [View all]CTyankee
(63,909 posts)of sugar leads to obesity and we are now seeing it earlier and earlier in life. This adds up to a big public health problem. These kids grow up unhealthy and they hit an age where a number of diseases linked to that obesity become chronic illnesses, costing a lot in terms of the health of the people and in costs in the health system (the cost alone is enormous and it is a cost to all of us).
I see Mayor Bloomberg reasoning that somebody, somewhere, somehow has to get the ball rolling on some serious efforts to focus the mind of the public. Sure, limiting fruit juice is a great idea, but we don't see people getting obese on fruit juice. They are getting obese on excessively large and rather cheap servings of sugared drinks. Just throwing up your hands and giving up has been what we always do when we just "wring our hands" as he so aptly put it.
It won't be a cure-all and I don't think the mayor expects it to be. Just a first step by a public official, recognizing the problem and throwing a spotlight on it.