Remember when this was a "normal" size for soda?
I have never had a giant-size or super-size or Big Gulp size soda. In point of fact, I’ve had almost no regular (as in, non-diet) soda in my life, apart from a span between about age 12, when I suddenly decided I liked grape and orange soda or root beer, in cans served up out of garbage pails full of ice at family parties; and age 16-ish, which is when I switched to Tab. Lots of Tab, then Diet Coke. I don’t even drink much of that anymore, since my husband and I decided telling our kids “no soda” while pouring DC over ice at dinner time was sort of hypocritical. That, plus it’s pretty much poison.
But even back when I did drink soda, real soda, like, before there was such a thing as diet anything, or high-fructose corn syrup, soda came in those aforementioned cans – 12 ounces only. Sixteen-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles, and Big Gulps didn’t exist. This is not news to anyone, I’m sure – the fact that since the nation’s corn growers got subsidized to grow more corn, more of it got turned into high fructose corn syrup, which had to be used for something, and one major something was, and still is, soda and other sweetened drinks. It’s devastating in part because it’s so cheap that selling more of it – bigger bottles, bigger cups, ever-more-absurd sizes – became like some sort of competition. Why buy a 12 ounce soda if it’s only a few cents more to buy the 32-ounce?
I bring this up because the mayor of my former city, New York, recently proposed banning giant-sized sodas from being sold in Gotham – at fast food joints, ballparks, movie theatres and more. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been hot for a while now to improve the health of his populace (bans on public smoking, bans on trans fats, a transformation of some formerly traffic-clogged stretches of Seventh Avenue and Broadway into pedestrian havens) and for that — for that urge — I applaud him.
But I’m of mixed emotions about the ban, in large part because getting rid of giant-sized servings of sweet drinks, if you want to get people healthy, is just the tip of the iceberg (as Jon Stewart said on The Daily Show the other night, you can still buy a mile-high pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli that’s essentially a heart attack on a plate). But my emotions remain mixed also because a ban is in some measure merely symbolic, or silly (or nanny-state-ish, though I’m loathe to go down that road; I don’t think, given the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, both in dollars and in lost productivity and shrinking competitiveness of our nation, that it should be out of the reach of government responsibility to try to keep people healthy as well as educated and informed. Seatbelts are the law, too, as are dire warnings on — and high taxes attached to — packs of cigarettes).
Because the thing is, as a nation, we are getting fat. There’s really no other nice way to say it.
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the four-part HBO documentary The Weight of the Nation. As this topic is of interest to me generally, nothing reported in there was a big surprise to me, but it was still riveting. Twelve-year olds with what used to be called adult-onset diabetes? Kids who can barely run? That, to me, is a horror show. As is the very notion that we may well be raising the first generation in the history of this country whose life expectancy is lower than ours.
So yes, Mr. Bloomberg, sweet drinks are a big problem.
Put soda aside for a second; let’s talk Gatorade, another form of sugar-water-plus-food-coloring that has joined soda in replacing beverages such as water, or milk. Kids on both my sons’ soccer teams routinely bring a 20-ounce bottle of this stuff to practices and games. Not water; Gatorade. I was chatting with the mother of a second grader on my younger boy’s team; he’s a good player – aggressive, skilled. But he’s kind of on the chubby side. The mom told me it was something that concerned her, and her pediatrician. Then she told me “all he likes to drink is sweet iced tea.” That’s all he’ll drink?
Is that all that’s in the house? Is that possible? The child shows up for a game without a water bottle, and his dad pulls up later, probably after dropping one of their other sons off at his soccer game, having stopped at a deli to get the kid … Gatorade.
There’s an essential parental issue there that no ban on large-size sodas will fix.
If I bought Gatorade, guess what? My sons would gulp it down like the normal, sweet-obsessed children they are. I don’t buy it, precisely for that reason.
I’m not special; I don’t have a corner on any insider mother information here. To me, this is basic commonsense. My kid is running around on the field for an hour. Isn’t it obvious that what he needs is water?
So, back to Mayor Bloomberg. I’m still not convinced a ban is a good idea. But it has to be a start, even if it doesn’t pass, of a conversation – of someone saying, out loud, Who needs a 32-ounce soda? Because no one does. One thing the mayor said got me thinking, too; at first it would seem the ban is silly because you can get around it so easily: Want a lot of soda? You can still buy two of them! But what if, when you were out at a pizza place or a movie theatre and you saw the cups lined up near the soda fountain, you didn’t have the absurd size to choose from? (Anyone other than me remember the days of simple “small, medium or large”?) Would you order an appropriate size and call that enough?
You might.
I also hate gatorade. There are so many kids on my sons soccer team who drink it, they are 4 and 5. I like the thought of educating people, but they will probably still make poor choices.
I don’t even drink soda so something like this doesn’t affect me personally. But what bothers me is the attitude that government officials know best. Who “needs” a 32 oz soda? No one, of course, but we also don’t “need” blue eyeliner. I don’t think it’s up to government to mandate these kind of things. Our country is facing an obesity epidemic that is stressing our healthcare industry but this doesn’t solve it. And the hypocrisy of Bloomberg celebrating National Donut Day the day after he makes this proposal is astounding. We need to encourage people to move more and live a healthier life. Brining back PE in schools, placing grocery stores with fresh produce in neighborhoods where they are scarce, and making organics more affordable make sense. Taxing or outlawing one sugary item at a time, at the governments discretion, does not.
I miss small, medium, and large. Order a small these days and you still wind up with a shocking amount of whatever you ordered to come in that cup.
I will comment on the Gatorade for one reason only: my son was born with a genetic metabolic disorder. His body cannot process long-chain fats so they can build up in his system and become toxic. It’s not generally an issue except when he’s sick, fasting, or using his energy (via exercise, generally). He’s only a year and a half now but let’s say in ten years he wants to play soccer. Using the energy that his body stores up while playing soccer could cause his blood sugar to crash (because he’s used all his energy stores) and, let’s be honest, water isn’t going to fix that; once those energy stores are gone, the body starts attacking fat and muscle and those long-chain fats that his body can’t process become problematic. So, he’s actually encouraged to drink Gatorade or juice for that reason. The disorder isn’t something he’ll grow out of and it’s not like he’s going to have Gatorade all the time but we use it for a specific purpose.
With all that said, I don’t think Gatorade during a soccer game is a bad thing. It serves a specific purpose for all kids, not just ones like my son. Should kids also be drinking water? Yes, absolutely. The problem isn’t just that kids are having Gatorade during soccer practice. It’s also that their parents are taking them to McDonald’s for burgers and fries three times a week, letting them have ice cream for dessert every other night, and not encouraging them to get their lazy butts outside to play and, instead, let them stay inside to play video games and watch TV all afternoon.
Education is key but, as the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink it.”
I’m sorry to hear about your son’s metabolic disorder. Of course, you and he will have to do everything to prevent it from affecting his life. But the disorder your son suffers from is rare. Kids with Gatorade and other sugar-filled drinks on the field should be the exception, rather than the rule. Most kids simply don’t need it.
The obesity epidemic is a myth perpetuated by the diet industry in order to make money. Many of the companies who push anti-obesity legislation are the ones who sell foods crammed with HCFS.
People come in different shapes and sizes. When I consider my children’s health, I don’t consider their size. I consider the types of food they eat, and how much exercise they get. A child who runs around the soccer field and is skilled enough to be a good player obviously gets enough exercise, regardless of how chubby he is. His diet may need improvement, but even on a great diet he may still be big.
I know it’s common these days to use weight as a proxy for health, but it’s wrong, by which I mean incorrect. Healthy behaviors give a person the best chance for health regardless of size.
About this issue with soda, I agree with Colleen above. We order water at restaurants, but I don’t begrudge anyone their soda, if that’s really what they want to put in their body. I’d rather the effort be put toward making healthy food available for all people, and making safe exercise options available for all people.
Thanks for your comment. I don’t begrudge anyone their soda, either. But I don’t think anyone can deny, based on very real evidence, that there is a problem with obesity in this country, the diet “industry” aside. Sure, folks like Jenny Craig or whatever have a stake in people continually needing to diet; if the problem is “solved,” they’re out of clients, yes? But that’s a separate issue from kids drinking too many sweet drinks, which, it’s been documented, replace healthy options in their diet. And they ARE getting heavier, and sicker.
I also agree with you, 100%, that healthy behaviors should be taught and promoted and made easier to adopt. That means better education about health and fitness and nutrition in schools, and decent time to play, and places to play, at school and at home. It’s a many-faceted issue with a lot of different avenues for change.
But I still maintain that if you don’t bring the soda home, the kids can’t drink it. I also have zero problem flat-out telling my kids, “no, you can’t have that. It’s bad for you.” Funnily enough, right after I published this post we went to a birthday party where the drink was Gatorade (it was a pool party). They were small bottles, which I appreciated, and I told them they could pick one flavor and have that with their food, but after that, it was water only. They were cool with that. That, to me, is putting a treat in its proper place. The way it stands now with many kids I see, treats aren’t in isolated places (parties, holidays, etc.), but instead are EVERYWHERE.
Denise
Though I can’t agree with the “obesity problem” angle, I do agree that it’s just as simple as keeping that stuff out of the home, as setting limits just as you say. I can’t say if other families do this, and how it does or doesn’t correlate to obesity, but I can agree that giving a child sweets whenever s/he wants won’t make them healthy.
The Gatorade thing bugs me too. They (and the other “sports drinks” makers) have done such a good job marketing to kids that almost all kids (and many parents) believe that Gatorade (and the others) are healthy and that they “need” it to rehydrate after/during sports.
Yeah – except that it’s almost all sugar. And that study after study after study has shown that water and milk hydrate and replenish better. Maybe water and milk just need better marketing campaigns…
Instead of banning, why don’t they just put a tax on high sugar, no nutrition “treat” foods and then use the money raised to subsidise fruits and vegetables. So that the healthy choice becomes the cheaper option. I don’t care what people are used to, they will vote with their wallets.
My 9 year old thinks it’s a huge treat to get “sip” of Mom’s (diet) pop once in a while. When we go to Mickey D’s (once every five or six weeks–when the prize changes), she gets chocolate milk, which we don’t have at home, so it’s a big deal to her. Mostly she drinks water or milk and maybe one juice pouch per day. The rest of us, except for my 21 year old, drink at most 1 can of diet pop per day–the rest of the time, it’s water, milk (we got through about 5 gallons a week), or 100% juice. BTW, my 16 year old is a cross country runner and distance runner in track and never drinks sports drinks.
My daughters (aged 9) have soda when they are at other people’s homes and once in a while at a movie (and it’s so huge that we have to have at least one if not two bathroom trips during a 2-hour show!), so I’m not against it totally, but when I gave soda up about three years ago, so did the whole family. When we go out to dinner they get milk or water. (Yes, I’m a mean mom, too!)They get a juice pouch for their packed lunch but other than that it’s milk or water throughout the day.
What I find interesting though is that when I order a water at a fast food restaurant it always comes in the smallest cup they can find!
I’m not sure about the ban, though, as I think I should be the one policing my children, not the mayor. However, one thing I really do love, is the calorie counts on all the menus in NY — I have to say it does help me make a healthier choice!
OMG, Tracy, you are so right about the size cup they give you if you want water! Panera does that — which I suppose is how they deter you from sneaking a free fountain drink when it’s serve yourself. What I do, at Panera, is order a lemonade for myself and get water cups for the boys, then we share, mixing lemonade (which is yummy but too sweet/strong) half and half with water.
Ugh, I so agree with you about the Gatorade. My son plays soccer and baseball and I’ve about had it to here with the snack schedule. I just don’t like what other parents choose to feed my kid. One week it was Gatorade and Chips-Ahoy cookies in a 4-pack, and this was at 6:30 right before dinner. So then I had to argue the whole way home that he could have 2 cookies now, but the others stayed in the pouch for tomorrow. I’m so tempted to suggest at the beginning of the season that we all simply bring a snack for our own kids if we want to, but I’m too timid. Don’t want to be “that mom” that ruins it for everybody. I never buy the stuff myself, but it is increasingly difficult to limit the junk he gets from others. Summer camp, I fear, will add a new dimension. At least sports are only twice a week.
I do hear you on the snacks! At my sons’ soccer games, kids bring their own drinks (water for most, Gatorade for some). Parents bring “snacks”, which usually means fruit a halftime — the tradition is orange slices, which the kids gobble up) and Munchkins or cookies or some other crap a the end. I don’t get it. But like you, I go along with it, but get strict on my kids privately. It’s exhausting. I keep saying this, and I’ll continue to do so: I have no problem with occasional treats. I like cookies and donuts and chips! But these days there’s no such thing as “occasional,” and that’s what gets me.
I’ll play devil’s advcate for a second here and speak up for the “everything in moderation” camp. Is it such a bad thing that the kid has a small gatorade and a couple cookies after a soccer game? Is it really going to make him obese or develop bad habits? no its not. And is it the kids who play soccer that we really have to worry about here? Except for the occasional fat kid playing defense or goalie, no. If we were to look at studies for a second it turns out that gatorade can be a great thing when used properly. Is it a substitute for water? no. Does it put back into your body a lot of things that you lose when you sweat? It sure does. The problem with gatorade lies in using it when it is not appropriate like drinking it when you are sitting on couch watching TV. And here is an idea for all you mothers out there who are not allowing their kid to drink soda or gatorade: When your child goes off to college or into the work force and lives on their own, they are going to drink the stuff. Especially if the only time they get it is at a friend’s house or at summer camp. In those situations it puts soda and gatorade on a pedestal. One reason most college kids get the “freshman 15″ (or freshman 50 nowadays) is because they can eat whatever they want and choose to eat what tastes good. I’m not telling anybody how to raise thier kids, believe me, but it may be a better idea to educate children that sugary drinks like your soda and gatorade is bad when you have it all the time. There are also healthier editions of these beverages that taste pretty good. Personally, I drink 1 diet soda a day, some calorie free powerade every once in a while, and maybe a regular soda or two when I go out to eat twice a month. Now I have done this my whole life (except the calorie free powerade which only came out recently, but I only drank gatorade when I was playing sports) and am I obese? No. I am a personal trainer and most people would call me a pretty healthy guy. In my opinion, it is better to teach kids healhty habits then shield them from the evils of soda and gatorade throughout their childhood. They are Americans. They are going to drink soda, gatorade, milk, orange juice, and all of those other things that make us Americans. If we can teach our children to develop healthy, reasonable, eating habits, then that is something that will stick with them their whole lives and help them maintain wellness throughout their life.
Tyler,
Thanks for sharing your view.In fact, I agree with you. What you describe — good habits overall,treats (including sweet drinks) in moderation — is exactly how I was raised. And even though I preferred the treats and had to be forced to eat my veggies, the good habits my parents modeled and enforced stuck with me, as well as with my sister and brother.
But moderation is not what’s happening now. The kids on the soccer field aren’t running like maniacs and sweating profusely enough to require a replacement of electrolytes. In sad truth, some of them — not even the really overweight ones– are too de-conditioned to run very much before they get winded. A worse problem is the treats. There is no effort at moderation in many circles. When i was a child,if there was a party in the classroom, there was a treat — say, cupcakes and a drink. Now, a class party (depending on the teacher and on the class parents in charge) might include cupcakes, and cookies, and Doritos, and potato chips, and ice cream cups, and juice. And some fruit and water to give a nod to a healthy choice. And nearly all the kids take all of it. If you pile that on with how often the kids eat fast food in a week,or if you saw what passed as a “healthy snack” to get them through from lunch to dismissal time (oreos, chips, another juice box), you’d see what I’m seeing.
And I live in a part of the country where the obesity problem is still hovering around the edges!
Thanks again for chiming in, I appreciate it!
Denise
I’m for Bloomberg’s proposed ban for two reasons… One, it’s refreshing to see a politician stand up to the big industrial food producers. None – or very few – of the national lawmakers seem to have the nerve to bite the hand that feeds them, so I guess it takes a leader at the “local” level with a nonetheless national platform to do it. Two – I totally agree with you, Denise – it has everyone talking about the question of reasonable portion size when it comes to a beverage that clearly has no health benefits. It’s just too bad the sentiment that it’s un-American (to hear most reactions in the media) to tell anyone that they *can’t* do anything that they obviously *shouldn’t* do is distracting from this point. It’s also disappointing that the ban would only apply to “regular” drinks & not to diet versions… As if the high calorie count is the ONLY thing about soda that makes it unhealthy!
Denise,
I see where you are coming from when you say that moderation is not what is happening now. But those are the people who don’t care what their kids eat, or what they do. I’m just saying that banning kids from soda, gatorade, juices and all the other things that are so prevalent in our society is not the answer. Like I said before, I believe it sets kids up for failure because they don’t know how to deal with these things.
After all, kids are a result of the environment which they were raised in which is based off the parents. Its not the kids’ fault that parents buy them xboxes and playstations and computer games and give them cell phones when they are ten years old and don’t make them go outside and play like they did in the old days. It’s not the kids’ fault that there is no restriction on how much or of what they eat and drink. Seriously, if you only give a kid a gatorade after a soccer game or sporting event and not whenever they feel like it then that’s how they learn to drink it. On the flip side, if you give them pop (midwest for soda) with every meal then they will think it is acceptable. However, if the only time they get the stuff is outside of your house, then when they leave your house they are going to have it all the time because it not only tastes good, it makes them feel good. And I know this from experience. In my house all we ever got as far as milk goes was skim. Then when I would go to summer camp every year they had 2% milk and holy cow was it good! So, when I moved out of my parents house and started buying groceries myself what kind of milk did I buy? You guessed it, 2%. And I drank a ton of it because there was nobody stopping me. Although I don’t drink nearly as much of it as I did when I first went to college, I still drink 2%. I was set up for failure.
I don’t mean you any disrespect Denise because you are absolutely right, we live in a land of extremes. Either you eat healthy or you don’t, either you go to the gym everyday or you don’t go enough to make a difference, either you get the big gulp on the way home from work or you never get it, shoot, even our government is set up that way. But the extremes are failing us. they are failing us because people usually pick the extreme that is easiest and we get classically conditioned one way or the other. I think we should all try to come a little bit closer to the middle than we are now. Lets look at it this way. If the family that is on the extreme healthy end of the spectrum then those habits and that lifestyle is intimidating to them. However, if they see the family who has soda every once in a while and lives there in the middle of the spectrum then they might say “we can make that step,” “we can eat healthier a little bit more often,” and its not so scary.
Sorry for the long comments here. I just think we should be modeling realistic, healthy behavior for our kids and our community. Change happens one step at a time.
Here’s a thought:
I have seen a few kids who were had their t.v. and computer time tightly controlled or nearly banned when they were growing up.
By the time they reached the teen years or young adult, they were screen addicts and brats.
One extreme or the other doesn’t promote moderation.
Another thought:
So my family who splits a 32 oz as opposed to buying small or mediums for each person has to be punished because of the others. That’s absurd.
I realize that obesity is a problem.
That has less to do with pop than it does with people not getting off their butts and going outside and playing.
I know people who are addicted to soft drinks and yet find the time to get off their rear ends and stay active enough to maintain a healthy weight. It’s their one vise.
Banning is not the answer. And further, something I’ve learned along the way the last few years, if you really want to know the motivation behind political moves, follow the trail of money.
I think the ban is foolish, and kind of problematic.
I do purchase those large sized drinks occasionally, but not for a single person to consume.
More accurately, I will pick up a large drink, then split it between myself, my wife, and the two boys. It’s just this weird cheap habit we have.
By banning the drinks, it says to me ‘you’re too stupid to figure this out for yourself, and now you have to pay extra for us to think for you…’
Oh, environmentally it means less waste too, so I’ll just pitch in that bit of tree hugging to counter my cheapskate habits…