Diabetes doctors: NYC big-soda ban is just a start

Doctors treating the casualties of the global obesity epidemic say an unpopular proposal to limit soda portions in New York City should be just the beginning of stricter regulation of unhealthy foods.

Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans oppose New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to limit single servings of sugary drinks to 16 ounces (0.45 kilograms) at restaurants and other public venues.

Many view the measure as unwelcome government intervention in their daily diets.

But exasperated diabetes specialists say people need even greater protections from a food industry that keeps enticing them with ever-bigger portions, as more than two-thirds of the country's adults are now overweight or obese. Excess weight contributes to health problems from diabetes to hypertension.

"We're spending billions of dollars for drugs to cure the problem after the problem happens, instead of preventing the problem," said Dr. Bryce Palchick, a general practitioner in Pittsburgh.

"This goes beyond individual freedom; if you have diabetes and end up in the hospital, somebody else is paying for your bills if you're not paying for it yourself," Palchick said in an interview at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in Philadelphia last week. "Not only are you endangering your own life, you're making everybody else pay for it."

Obesity accounts for $190 billion in annual U.S. medical costs - or almost 21 percent of the total, according to a recent Lehigh University study. On average, obese individuals incur $2,741 higher medical bills each year than other people do, the study said.

A report presented this week by the American Medical Association estimated that 46 percent of the nation's intake of added sugars came from beverages. It said increasing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to a penny per ounce would lead to a 5 percent drop in the prevalence of people who are overweight and obese, and cut medical costs by $17 billion within a decade.

Other medical experts predict the scope of the problem will lead to further restrictions on food portions, from oversized hamburgers to super-size servings of French fries. New York City may be one of the first major centers to adopt new rules and become a template for other regions across the United States, they said.

"It wouldn't be unreasonable to consider other high-calorie and empty-calorie foods" for regulation, said Dr. Andrew Ahmann, a professor of endocrinology at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

He did express concern, however, that such intervention would be most costly to lower-income people, who rely more on the cheaper fare of fast-food restaurants.

Bloomberg's soda proposal might seem a little over-reaching, but makes total sense from a health perspective, said Karen Weiland, a nurse practitioner from Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.