Life Happens: Michael Bloomberg: ‘No more super-sizing!’

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing a ban on supersize portions of sugary beverages. He would like to limit a serving size to 16 ounces. This is already causing a lot of controversy. Grown-up people like to choose what they buy from restaurants and convenience stores. It’s our right to take in more than 700 calories by drinking 64 ounces of carbonated corn syrup any time we want, right?

In actuality, I don’t think the mayor is telling us we can’t drink 64 ounces of soda. In an article he wrote for USA Today, he made the point that anyone can still buy as much soda as they want, just in increments of 16 ounces at a time. Still want a Double Gulp®? Just buy four 16 ounce cups of soda, instead.

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as buying a tub of pop. Drinks came in 8-ounce cups, which were enough to go with the smaller-sized hamburgers and the small bag of fries that it came with.

When did portions spiral so far out of control? Did soda sizes get so huge because we, as a nation, are so thirsty? Or did our taste for soda expand because the Double Gulp was there? Which came first?

As a nurse, I see the effects of obesity every day in my job. People with complications from Type 2 diabetes suffer the very real effects of high blood sugar every day. It’s true that type 2 diabetes can be reversed by diet and exercise and I’ve seen people who have done it by changing how they eat and by shifting away from things like sodas and fast food. Type 2 is largely a disease that is preventable by lifestyle.

I’ve seen studies where regular soda drinkers can lose 20 pounds in a year by making no other changes to their diet or lifestyle than drinking water instead of pop.

The average person requires 64 – 90 ounces of water per day. Very few people actually drink that much water. It’s ironic that the daily water needs of a person are the same ounces as that of a Double Gulp.

Is soda the enemy? There’s nothing in it that is necessary to sustain life. But if someone likes the taste and it goes well with a burger and fries, then why not have some, once in a while? My grandmother, who lived to be 102, always said, “Moderation in all things.”

I think that Bloomberg is onto something here, if for no other reason than it makes us realize how big a Big Gulp really is and how much sugar and non-nutrients we’re taking in at one time. Sixteen ounces is still a lot of soda.

If people who are inclined to order a 64-ounce pop would take the same size container and fill it with water instead, wouldn’t that be the best choice of all?

It will be interesting to read the arguments for and against Bloomberg’s proposed ban on supersized drinks.