Mayor Michael Bloomberg Case Summary

In New York City the mayor is trying to ban sugary sodas to decrease the amount of obesity. Two-thirds of adults in New York are overweight, 40% of elementary and middle school students fight obesity. Is this because of the intake of sugary sodas or is it the lack of self control? "Liz Berman, the coalition's chairwoman" states "We are smart enough to make our own decision about what to eat and drink."

As an attempt to reduce the rising obesity and obesity-related disease rates, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has proposed a ban on soft drinks larger than 16 oz. According to an infographic created by the Huffington Post, extra large soft drinks have accounted for an average of 301 extra calories in people’s diets across the US. Although measures need to be put into place to improve the unhealthy diets and lifestyles of many Americans, a ban on large soft drinks is not the solution. The ban on soda would be an ineffective attempt at reducing obesity and obesity-related diseases, as well as an infringement of civil liberties and an attack on businesses in New York City.

Their advertisement proclaimed that all they wanted to do was “protect their Freedom of Choice.” “This is New York City; no one tells us what neighborhood to live in or what team to root for,” says the narrator, as Yankees and Mets fans shout in the background. (Grynbaum, 2012). Since May 30 when Bloomberg wanted to ban the sale of soft drinks over 16 ounces in regulated food establishments such as movie theaters and sport arenas. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, recommended there be a federal study linking together sugary beverages and obesity. “The talking points are ‘Nanny State,’ that it won’t work, because people will just buy as much as they ever would, and that this disproportionately hurts the poor,” said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. (Grynbaum, 2012). People that are not middle or low class would buy as much soda as they wanted and the rest of the people would be stuck with whatever drink is leftover. The lower class minority groups seem to always get the shorter end of the stick and in most cases unless a big group of them get together their voices will not be heard. The mayor or the city council should not have the right to tell you what size soda to drink or what kind of soda to drink; We live in The United States of America and there is no law that says anything about a specific size or flavor of soda so until that day comes nobody should

There have been many health related bans put in place throughout history, but none have been as controversial as NYC Mayor, Michael Bloombergs soda ban. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to put into ordinance a regulation that will limit the size of drink cups in restaurants, sporting arenas, movie theaters, and food carts. This ban is controversial because New Yorkers feel like the mayor is trying to control them and take away their choices. They feel that he shouldn’t get a say in how much of a sugary drink they consume, even though they can still buy the same amount as before if they buy two cups instead of one. However, this regulation is going to affect public health in a positive way, because it’s going to make people stop and think before they

Question 2 – This infographic relates to Nadia Arumugam’s claim that, if not anything else, this ban may teach us about the importance of “portion control”. In her article she quotes Thomas Hardy and according to him the reduction of the consumption of sugary drinks from 20 to 16 ounces “every other week” will help New Yorkers avoid gaining about 2.3 million pounds a year. One of the problems is that people don’t realize the actual amount of unhealthy products they consume in a longer period of time.

As many Americans know, there is currently an obesity epidemic that is sweeping the nation. With more food advertisements, bigger portion sizes, and Americans eating more calories than ever before; Linder makes his viewpoint very clear on how this is negatively affecting our nation. In his article “Fat of the Land”, Linder looks at all of the possible leading factors on who is to blame on the current situation in resulting of more than 60% of adults in America being overweight. The main contributing people to blame for the obesity epidemic is of course, the fast food industry. Linder’s main argument starts with his comparison of American’s calorie intake in the 1950’s, than comparing it to today. With stating the other side’s viewpoint on while advertisements and marketing are always surrounding the world around us; it is not forcing us to do anything. With his basic statement claiming that people will be people and at the end of the day, it’s their decision if they want to eat that 1,000 calorie filled Big Mac from McDonalds. Linder does a substantial job at informing the reader about the many dangers causing obesity, while also persuading them by giving tips to lead a well-balanced, healthier lifestyle.

Obesity has become an epidemic across the United States. Americans have continued to gain weight, increasing the amount of people that are considered obese by millions every few years. More and more experts have come to a consensus: weight needs to be addressed and changed in America. Many experts, however, have not found a way to completely solve this problem at large. In the article, “Rethinking Weight”, senior writer Amanda Spake directs attention to the barriers our society has built for obesity treatment. Through this attention, it becomes evident these barriers have developed from the changing ideals in our society. Roberta Seid, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, argues in “Too “Close to the Bone”: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness” how our body ideals have changed the way our society views obesity. Both authors emphasize the problem our society faces with obesity becoming an epidemic, and how that needs to be changed so our society can live happier and healthier lives. Although both authors are achieving the same point, Spake concludes that obesity has stemmed from pharmaceutical problems and biological factors, while Seid holds that obesity has come from the changing fashion and body ideals in our society. By reading both articles in conjunction, it becomes clear that the root of this problem is our societal issues, obesity has become an epidemic because of the way our society neglects obesity from all aspects.

Obese- is becoming an “epidemic!” We have 44.3 million people that are either obese or over weight. In 1986, the numbers were at 1 in 2000, and they became 1 in 400 by the year 2000. Even our high school age students are at an all time high of 16% overweight and 10% obese. As that number keeps increasing, future projections for covering healthcare expenditures must figure in the obese-related

He even said himself, "The evidence strongly supports a relationship between sweet drinks and obesity." If evidence is truly so strong why don't we, as Americans try to change these statistics? That is because we are comfortable. Obesity is such a common health problem now a days, we fail to realize that it IS in fact a health issue, a very dangerous one. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg challenges the city of New York to step out of their comfort zone and acknowledge this growing health problem that has so seemingly became a tradition in America. But like I said we are comfortable, and nobody likes to get up and make something happen when they are comfortable. But with all the effort you're putting in to fight this ban don't you see that Bloomberg is just trying to help us. The amount of deaths caused alone by obesity is devastating. Especially when a change as simple as going on a diet and cutting vast amounts of soda out of our lives can effectively decrease the amount of these deaths. Nobody wants to have their free will taken away. After all that is what America stands for. And a choice in what we put into our own bodies should be our choice right? Yes of course! And Mayor Bloomberg is not taking away that

For years cartoons have depicted obese kids rolling down streets, however, this may become an unfortunate truth. The issue of the obesity epidemic in America has become an enormous issue. Obesity, which is the accurate term to describe being above overweight on the body mass index (bmi), is an epidemic with many causes that can have staggering effects. Industries have found ways to market their food products in order to gain money, uncaring of the trouble and harm they may be causing to others. The obesity epidemic has become a very controversial political topic being discussed nationwide. Despite how bad things have gotten there are ways to fix this broken country.

While the new law bans these large sized containers, one can “still buy as much soda as [one] wants, just in a smaller container” (MSNBC). To counter the opposers of the law, the mayor clearly establishes that he is not controlling anyone’s soda intake. This way, Bloomberg is not violating any basic human rights because anyone can still drink as much soda as they feel fits them. While the law prevents buying twenty oz drink containers, sixteen oz and smaller sizes are still available to the public. Bloomberg continues to use logic when explaining the government’s duty to its population. He uses various data evidences to establish that “sugary drinks are affecting the health of the country’s population” (MSNBC), which helps his case because public health is one of the main concern of the government .. Since these sugary drinks which causes obesity is one of the main causes of a deteriorating public health, the government should intervene, just like if a disease or an epidemic spread across the country and was damaging public health. The main duty of the government is to protect its citizens Bloomberg spins the perception of the law from the government taking rights away from the citizens, to the government saving the citizens from themselves. Overall, Bloomberg logically explains his side of the argument, where the law is simply there to protect the health of the New York society, while not taking any rights away from the citizens but in parallel effectively enough to justify the law being passed and put into action in New

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

In early 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City attempted to regulate health by proposing the Portion Cap Rule. This rule banned all food services within city limits from selling sugary drinks with a quantity of 16 ounces or more. Although this proposal was approved by the Board of Health unanimously, the New York Supreme Court rejected it, stating that this regulation was outside of their delegated authority. There is not a clearly defined boundary for where the government can and cannot interfere with the personal lives of the general public. When considering health, the placement of this boundary is often called into question. The responsibility for public health lies with both the government and the individual, as the government

Hutch’s Skinny Eats is a company who provides nutritional information and guidance to interested consumers. As the years continue to go by, it seems that the percentage of obesity is increasing along with it. According to stateofobesity.org, the rate of obesity throughout the United States has increased to over 35 percent in four states with Louisiana being the highest adult obesity rate of 36.2 percent (Obesity Rates & Trends, 2016). In twenty-five states, the percentage is 30 percent and 20 percent within all of the states (Obesity Rates & Trends, 2016). That means throughout all of the states there is at least a 20 percent obesity rate. As these rates and obesity are certainly undesirable, that’s where my company comes into