Court to hear lawsuit against cola ban

A New York court will today hear a petition filed by the American Beverage Association against the city's plan to crack down on supersized sugary drinks.

In September last year, the city's Board of Health overwhelmingly voted to ban restaurants, street carts and entertainment and sports venues from selling sweetened drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

The size limit is set to take effect, as planned, on March 12. Violations will incur a fine of $200.

However, last week New York City announced a three-month grace period from fines for breaking the law which the city sees as a groundbreaking step in its fight against the rapid spread of obesity.

"Health officials will not seek fines for non-compliance for the first three months," said City's lawyer Mark Muschenheim in a statement.

But the American Beverage Association, in the suit, filed in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, contends that New York City's Board of Health did not have the authority to ratify the rules unilaterally.

It also claims "the Board of Health's decision … usurps the role of the City Council, violating core principles of democratic government and ignoring the rights of the people of New York City to make their own choices".

The 61-page filing says, among other things, that the Board of Health adopted the ban, first proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, completely ignoring the public objection of 17 members of the City Council, the legislative body elected by the people.




Michael Bloomberg: A modern-day Don Quixote?




However, the mayor’s office dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless”, maintaining that the Board of Health “absolutely has the authority to regulate matters affecting health, and the obesity crisis killing nearly 6,000 New Yorkers a year”.

Runaway obesity rates are threatening not just New York.

A report says that the number of obese adults will increase dramatically in every state in the country over the next two decades – and along with it related disease rates and health care costs.

Which means, by 2030 more than half the population in the United States will be obese – if corrective measures are not taken, starting now.




Obesity in the U.S.: A Burgeoning Crisis




Obesity increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic illnesses.

Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index above 30, while overweight means a Body Mass Index of between 25 and 29.9.




Calculate your body mass index.




The ban applies to any establishment, in New York City’s five boroughs, with a food-service license, including fast-food restaurants, workplace cafeterias, delis, movie and Broadway theaters, the concession stands at Yankee Stadium and the pizzerias of Little Italy.




Do you think New York City has acted fairly in imposing the ban? Let's hear your views. Please leave your comments below.

Obesity in the US: A Burgeoning Crisis

It makes for frightening reading, really.

In the past few years, obesity has been rising rapidly in the United States with the result that today it has reached epidemic proportions.

To make matters worse, a new damning report says that if the current trend continues then by 2030 more than half the population of the United States will be obese!

The report, aptly titled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2012, says that the number of obese adults will increase dramatically in every state in the country over the next two decades – and along with it related disease rates and health care costs.

The report follows analyses of state-by-state data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commissioned by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted by the National Heart Forum.

Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index above 30, while overweight means a Body Mass Index of between 25 and 29.9.

Calculate your body mass index.

Obesity increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic illnesses.

Key findings of the study:

• If the obesity rise continues on its current path, 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 per cent, 39 states about 50 per cent, and all 50 states could have rates above 44 per cent by 2030.
• By 2030, Mississippi could become the fattest state in the United States with an obesity rate of 66 per cent with Colorado at the bottom of the ladder with 44.8 per cent – in 2011, the rates were 34.9 per cent and 20.7 per cent, respectively.
• There could be a 10-fold increase in new cases of Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, hypertension and arthritis between 2010 and 2020 – and double that by 2030.
• Obesity could contribute to more than 6 million case of Type 2 diabetes, 5 million cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, and more than 400,000 cases of cancer in the next two decades. Currently, more than 25 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes, 27 million have chronic heart disease, 69 million have hypertension and 50 million have arthritis. Besides, 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year and nearly a third of the cancer deaths are related to obesity, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.
• Medical costs associated with treating preventable obesity-related diseases are estimated to increase by $48 billion to $66 billion per year.
• Loss in economic productivity could be between $390 billion and $580 billion annually.
• Nine states could see their obesity-related health care costs shoot up by more than 20 per cent with New Jersey seeing the highest increase of 34.5 per cent.

A grim picture, no doubt. However, all is not lost.

The report suggests that the doomsday scenario can be avoided if only the states could reduce the average Body Mass Index of their residents by just 5 per cent by 2030.

“The study shows us two futures for America’s health,” says Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“At every level, we must pursue policies that prevent health, prevent disease and reduce health care costs.

“Nothing less is acceptable.”

Trust for America’s health executive director Jeff Levi says increasing physical activity times in schools and making fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable can help make healthier choices easier.

“Small changes can add up to a big difference,” he says.

“Policy changes can help make healthier choices easier for Americans in their daily lives.”

Not a tall order, surely. But there needs to be a national commitment and will.

What more do you think Americans should do to tackle the obesity crisis? Please, leave your comments below.