Thursday, May 31, 2012

Bloomberg vs the Big Gulp

Mayor Bloomberg despaired of obesity:
"What's fattening up NYC," said he,
"Is the public presumption
That soda consumption
Is better in servings of three," said he.

In a city known for swelled skylines and clogged vehicular arteries, Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to slim waist lines and clear cardiac arteries. The mayor announced that New York would soon ban extra-large servings of sweet soft drinks in public places, having found that their consumption is linked to the city's growing obesity problem. Brushing aside criticism of the "nanny city", Mayor Bloomberg declared that New York City would not "wring its hands" over the obesity epidemic, but rather "do something."

4 comments:

  1. LOL! Not easy to rhyme obesity, but you pulled it off!

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  3. I wonder what difference it will make. The macro issue is that food is too cheap in this country (not that the government should do anything about that).

    Last year I went to Madrid for a week, and noticed how thin and happy most Spaniards were. I figured I would contemplate this over lunch. So I went out a bought a phenomenal bottle of Rioja for 6€. Figured I would pick up a sandwich to complement it, but a tiny little sub was also 6€.

    So there it was. Spaniards are thin and happy because food is expensive and booze is cheap. We are fat and grumpy because of the opposite.

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  4. Coincidentally, someone just handed me the latest Atlantic magazine, the cover story of which is "The End Of Temptation: How the creepy science of behavior modification is reshaping our desires." Now looking forward to a fascinating train ride home.
    http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/06/the-perfected-self/8970/

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