Fight obesity! New York restaurants to ban large sodas

Fast food culture is prevalent in the United States, and French fries and soda are often consumed at all three meals. The situation is even more serious in New York, where one in eight people has diabetes, usually due to obesity. Nearly 60% of the population is overweight. In order to prevent the obesity problem from becoming more serious, the New York City Health Commission voted to pass a beverage ban. Starting from March next year, large cups of sugary drinks over 16 ounces (about 450c.c.) will not be seen in New York City.

New York is the first to launch a national weight loss program! Starting next March, you won't see large drinks larger than 16 ounces in New York City restaurants. (Photo/Source: CNN)

According to CNN, in view of the increasingly serious problem of obesity in the United States, New York has become the first area to implement an improvement plan. The first step is to ban the sale of increasingly larger bottles of sugary drinks on the market. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that as beverages become larger, people's waistlines are getting bigger. This can lead to increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition, New York City spends nearly $4 billion each year on solving citizens' obesity-related medical problems. Reducing citizens' beverage consumption may help to reduce the number of obese people.

However, this ban does not restrict consumers from buying small cups of drinks and getting unlimited refills, and it only applies to general restaurants, with no restrictions on supermarkets. However, there has been a strong backlash from the catering industry, with both McDonald's and Coca-Cola pointing out that the ban is too arbitrary and subjective. There are also many objections from ordinary citizens, who believe that this issue excessively infringes on personal freedom and that everyone has the right to choose how much they want to drink or how big a bottle of drink they want to buy. The government will give restaurant operators a nine-month adaptation period, and the law will officially come into effect in March next year.