Todays debate...

[jamesonontherocks]

www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/us/new-york-sugar-drinks/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

What do you think about this?

[ilovelamp]

I think we are quickly turning into a "big brother" country where we can't even make our own choices. If people want to drink their huge Cokes and get diabetes, let them. If people want to smoke and get cancer, let them. I'm so sick of it.

[amaristella]

They're spending valuable legislative time trying to place a control on the maximum size of soft drinks sold at restaurants.....
Sounds like they are wasting their stupid time trying to make it look like they have their residents' best interest in mind.

New York City Department of Health, quit wasting people's time with stupid ideas and come back when you have one that might actually work. Something like that might affect grab and go places like Burger King, but it's not going to stop someone sitting down for a meal from getting 4 refills on their 12 ounce beverage.

[GracieLouFreebush]

Ditto PPs. Waste of time and money IMO. On ML, they're talking about calorie info posted next to each item in chain restaurants. I saw this in FL and liked it...it affected (effected?) what I chose to order in a positive way.

How do you determine affect vs. effect, btw?

[amaristella]

I'm really bad at affect vs. effect as well. I usually just guess.

theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

[GracieLouFreebush]

May 31, 2012 11:28:08 GMT -5 amaristella said:

I'm really bad at affect vs. effect as well. I usually just guess.

theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

I need to bookmark that. I've read it plenty of times before!

Sorry to postjack!

[jrs7911]

I agree with PPs. I really don't want someone telling me what to drink or how much. I had heard that they were going to still allow the bigger sizes of diet sodas and sugar free drinks. Doesn't that just perpetuate the idea that it's okay to get a high calorie meal as long as you get a "diet drink" with it? (sadly, I have done this)

I agree also that posting calorie info makes me think twice about what I pick. I just avoid the the affect vs. effect if possible, because I always seem to get it wrong.

[ilovelamp]

I'm all for educating and informing, but I still want to ultimately decide for myself.

[ESquared423]

May 31, 2012 11:03:47 GMT -5 ilovelamp said:

I think we are quickly turning into a "big brother" country where we can't even make our own choices. If people want to drink their huge Cokes and get diabetes, let them. If people want to smoke and get cancer, let them. I'm so sick of it.

Exactly.
This country scares the crap out of me more and more each day.

[Jam]

I'm torn.

I like being free to decide what I do or don't consume but I know that I lack self control sometimes and that if I had a limit, I'd probably be more grateful for it. I think about European establishments and how they're much thinner than we are. Our small is practically the equivalent of their large!

In NYC most fast food places don't have those refill machines so if someone wants a refill after they drink their 16 oz soda, they're gonna have to pay $ for it and I'm sure plenty of them will think twice about doing that if they're anywhere near as cheap as I am lol

I'm torn about it though because while I PERSONALLY would like the limitation for my own life, I don't think other people should be told what they can or shouldn't do/put in their bodies. This is also how I feel about drug use and prostitution.

ETA: I didn't read the article so I'm posting off what gathered from this thread.

[beachy]

I really don't care either way. If someone wants a bigger pop that bad then they will pay for 2 of them if bigger ones aren't sold. I'm sure stores will just find a way around it now. Like when BK and McD's weren't allowed to use supersize or king size anymore, now they just do small, medium, and large meals.

I think nutrition facts listed on the menu everywhere would be much more helpful to people. I eat the healthiest at Panera usually because I feel like a heifer ordering something that I see is like 900 calories for a sandwich when I could pick something for 300 calories.

[audette]

I'm in the "waste of time" camp.

[basilosaurus]

It's stupid, but there's also no reason that validates ordering a 64oz coke. I don't care if you share it with 2 other people, it's still a ridiculous amount.

In general, affect is a verb, effect is a noun. There are exceptions, but most people don't use the exceptional cases.

[jamesonontherocks]

Didn't mean to post this then run, the jackasses down the street messed with hte cable line so I was SOL for most of the day yesterday.

I live in the area where this affects (effects? but anywho!). As I previously posted I am a soda fanatic. But I like this idea. There really is no reason to be ordering that large of a drink of anything. And even the soda fanatic that I am, I rarely order a medium, usually a small (in its 16 oz glory).

This is a huge deal from the aspect of healthcare though. Obesity causes scores of chronic, debilitating illnesses and sugary beverages are a large source of empty calories. It makes you sick when you actually look at the numbers and see how much medicare and medicaid pays for people's diabetes medication, lab work, frequent visits and hospitalizations, surgeries, arthritis surgeries, high blood pressure, the list goes on and on not counting the number of obese people who are on disability because they "can't work".

I'm not trying to turn this into a political statement of reimbursement for services or its my money treating these people.

[Jam]

May 31, 2012 11:22:08 GMT -5 GracieLouFreebush said:

How do you determine affect vs. effect, btw?

I use affect is what is caused (I was affected because...) and effect is a result (the effects of).

Hope that makes sense. I could be totally wrong though

[basilosaurus]

Almost always, affect is the verb and effect is the noun. There are exceptions, but most people don't ever use those.

[basilosaurus]

Jun 1, 2012 21:10:30 GMT -5 jamesonontherocks said:

This is a huge deal from the aspect of healthcare though. Obesity causes scores of chronic, debilitating illnesses and sugary beverages are a large source of empty calories. It makes you sick when you actually look at the numbers and see how much medicare and medicaid pays for people's diabetes medication, lab work, frequent visits and hospitalizations, surgeries, arthritis surgeries, high blood pressure, the list goes on and on not counting the number of obese people who are on disability because they "can't work

While I don't disagree with any of this, limiting soda size doesn't really seem to address much of this at all.

No, there's no reason anyone should be drinking a huge soda, even to split it. A small at wendy's is 20oz I believe, and that's just awful. That 20oz bottles are now standard is bad. That ordering a small at McD's gives me some lecture about how I could get twice that amount for 10 cents more is a problem. But that's still only a small slice of the obesity issue.

How about not subsidizing corn? Or making walkable cities? Or decent planning that makes riding a bicycle something other than a death wish?

[sookie]

I think it's stupid. If someone wants to drink one of those crazy giant Cokes twelve times a day and it's not hurting you, then so be it. I think that at this rate we'll see too many rules and regulations on what we can/can't eat/drink by the time we're all gone.