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In the grand scheme of things it’s not a lot of money, and if there are any savings because of the HUGE amount of money that obesity costs, it may work out.

Never under estimate the power of advertising. Remember when smoking was “cool”?

I think scare tactics can do more harm than good.

The anorexic uses this sort of thinking to justify their behaviors. I heard such things from my anorexic friends. Some are no longer with us.

At any rate this is an over-simplification. How about spending some money on promoting a healthy diet, rather than targeting spurious causations.

Ann: That seems to always be the response to all the little things the government spends money on: “in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot of money.” Well, I wonder how much money the city spends on PSAs annually? If one cost the city $277,000, then 10 cost more than $2.5 million. I bet they run more than 10. You can pay a lot of teachers with that money.

Can it save us money in the long term? Maybe. I’m skeptical about whether obesity costs the taxpayer each year as much as these PSAs do. And again – I’m not against the PSAs, I do think they can be powerful tools. But lets spend money on that when we actually have it. Right now the city is broke, and should be putting that money to better use.

Hi Ned thanks for capturing that so I can show it to my daughter who is not overweight but does not beleive how bad not only soda is but all refined sugar. More to the point is how much sugar is in soda and other sugery products. They put it on the label in grams. I tried to do the math, I beleive 1 teaspoon of sugar= 4 grams. There is 39 grams of sugar in a can of soda. (Someone may have to double check that for me…but that was my understanding).

Laura, the sugar in soda is a chemically altered one. The damage from HFCS is far more than merely being a factor in weight gain. But little is being done on that score. HFCS is used in a multitude of products for sweetening.

Hi Lisanne Sorry I have to ask what is HFCS. I am assumming artificial sweetners of some kind? Thanks

Laura, I’m starting to read Lisanne!’s mind. HFCS: High Fructose Corn Syrup

I notice that some of the whole wheat breads make a point of saying their product does not contain HFCS. As for the ads -I think it’s money very well spent.

That’s what it is. A brilliant marriage between technology and marketing. Corn is easy to grow, so easy to grow that at one time there was so much corn produced that no one knew what to do with it. The development of HFCS was a salvation and a lot of money was spent convincing food manufacturers to replace cane sugar with it. As it is cheaper than cane sugar the cost was a factor. However, it does affect the taste, the method used to create results in an artificial, rather than natural sweetener. And guess what, HFCS has been determined to be a factor in obesity, it produces substances in the body that decrease the body’s awareness that it is full. So people taking in significant amounts of HFCS tend to gain weight. Even worse, the damage continues even after HFCS is removed from the diet.

Despite this, HFCS isn’t going away. And the question must be asked why major health organizations aren’t specifically seeking its replacement. I suppose it is because the Corn Refiners Association has become a very powerful lobby.

Hi …Thanks for the explanation and I should have known some that. I am starting to become very aware of additives and other issues likes trans fats etc. I am somewhat versed when it comes to nutrition. I have the high blood pressure (it is heritary…for the most part) and salt is not the only enemy. Did you ever read the “twinkie story”. Sorry if my spelling is off. It is 7:00 am LOL.

I’ve heard a number of Twinkie stories, usually involving a loss of emotional control or extreme hyperactivity as the result of eating Twinkies. Then there was the so-called “Twinkie defense” whereas the murderer of Harvey Milk was supposedly affected by a sugar reaction which caused impaired judgement.

An anorexic friend of mine was convinced that Twinkies were manufactured in such a way that ome would gain 2 pounds fior every twinkie one ate. She cringed once as I ate one. They never had any effect on me except to annoy my stomach, which is why I rarely ate them.

The Twinkie story I was referring to was on CNN …I beleive it Dr. Gupta who did a report and it seems the Twinkie stated with five basic natural ingredients (flour, butter etc.). It now contains none of the original ingredients, but 25 or so artificial ingredients, one of them is banned in Europe for children. (that last fact should be double checked but I tend to beleive it) The original Twinkle had a shelf life of 5 days (like a typical shortbread cake it was intended to be) and this new engineered one can last for years. You can Google it.

Just to address the funding issue, aside from private sponsors, individual and organizations, money also comes from grants offered by the federal and state government.

It’s not a lot, obesity costs a FORTUNE in money and lives, and is far FAR more epidemic than anorexia is. The value of this is greater than the money spent, I believe. A lot of people are shocked at how the pounds fall off when they quit drinking sugared (HFCS) sodas. People are not aware that there are 40 grams worth in one can (or one day’s worth). I say do a bit of homework on obesity, nutrition, soda, budgets, medicine, and then pop back. The counter argument “it all adds up” can be said about anything. Schools, transit, potholes, whatever. It is the VALUE of that which counts. Don’t just take my word on it, about the costs of obesity – try the CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/economics.html

Or, maybe they’re all in on the conspiracy.

Ann: Thanks for the link, it was tremendously enlightening.

However, note again that I’m not talking about the issue of obesity or health. I DO believe they need to be addressed. What you linked strengthened that belief. But my argument was for the overall “Is this the best use of our money?” question.

I still think not. There’s not much to show that these PSAs will be effective, and the frivolous expenditures do add up. Meanwhile, cost free solutions could be implemented. Why not limit or ban the advertising of those product like they have for cigarettes? They’ve done that in the UK and have had good results. It would cost the taxpayer nothing to have that done, and I believe would be more effective.

As for saying “It all adds up” can be applied to everything, you’re right. Which is why we should take a look at every possible part of the budget to see what is really necessary. Education is an American value, and transit is an important city infrastructure. But that being said, does every school need a home economics course and does every train need 10 deaf, dumb, and blind bureaucrats twiddling their thumbs (cheap shot!)?

These kinds of PSAs, along with a lot of other nonsense, should be put aside until we’ve stabilized the economy.

So now I know where Primus got the name for the title track of their album: Pork Soda.

Grab yourself a can of pork soda
You’ll be feeling just fine
Ain’t nothin’ quite like sittin’ ’round the house
Swillin’ down them Cans of swine

Ha ha ha! Yes, Dad’s an idiot alright!

Ann, I’ve known quite a few anorexics. While it is not anywhere near as common as obesity the effects are far more serious and deadly. About 3/4s of the
anorexics I’ve known are no longer with us.

I wish they would come up with less extreme ways of getting their point across. Kids needs to learn balance.

Pepsi just re-released their “Throwback” versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. The “Throwback” products use sugar instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. So, it’s not only healthier, it tastes better. It’s a limited release so if you prefer sugar stock while you can. Additionally, look for Dr. Pepper Heritage as it become available here soon. This products also is made with sugar.

hey, 10 pounds a year is not bad at all if you get to drink 1 can of soda everyday .. thats 10 pounds fo revery 365 cans of soda you drink .. its worth it in my opinion