By Jill Bongiorni, News Staff
Mayor Menino knows best.
Citing a link between the consumption of sugary beverages and rising obesity rates and health care costs, Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued an executive order April 7 that requires city departments to take steps in the next six months to phase out the sale, advertising and promotion of sugary beverages on city-owned property.
“Now is the time to expand our efforts that began in our public schools and set an example for the city as a whole,” Menino said in the press release, referring to the 2004 ban on soda and junk food in Boston Public Schools (BPS) vending machines. “I want to create a civic environment that makes the healthier choice the easier choice in people’s lives, whether it’s schools, work sites, or other places in the community.”
The 2004 ban in BPS proved successful, as BPS youth surveillance data in 2006 showed that overall consumption of sugary drinks by BPS high school students decreased significantly.
Senior Lorena Rodriguez of Another Course to College (ACC) high school in Brighton said she doesn’t mind not having soda at her school and supports Menino’s decision to eliminate the sale and promotion of sugary drinks on city property.
“I think it’s a good thing, just for our overall health, and it’ll get teenagers to start getting used to drinking water not only in school, but also outside of school,” said Rodriguez, who has lived in Allston and attended BPS her whole life.
The executive order sets science-based standards for what is considered healthy beverages and what can be sold or served on city property, according to the press release. So-called “red” beverages, which include non-diet sodas, pre-sweetened iced teas, refrigerated coffee drinks, energy drinks, juice drinks with added sugar and sport drinks, will be banned.
The policy will also decrease health care costs for the city and cut into lost productivity, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in the press release. Economists estimate that medical costs for an obese patient are about 42 percent higher per year than those for a patient with a healthy weight, according to the statement.
“To be honest, I think it might actually be a good idea,” said middler marketing and finance major Alison Bubly. “It doesn’t seem like it’s doing anything detrimental to society and it will discourage bad eating habits. There are other places people can purchase sodas if they really want them. It’s for their own benefit, so they need to suck it up.”
According to the Boston Public Health Commission, about 63 percent of black adults, 51 percent of Latino adults and 49 percent of white adult residents in Boston are considered overweight or obese. This can be connected to the fact that soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages account for up to 10 percent of total calories consumed in the US diet and are known to be major contributors to obesity.
Other cities and states, including San Francisco, San Antonio, Los Angeles County and New York City, have also taken steps to create nutritional standards that limit or prohibit the sale or distribution of unhealthy foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages, according to the press release.
However, sophomore criminal justice major Jessy Segall said the government shouldn’t bear the burden of watching Bostonians’ waistlines.
“I think everyone should be responsible for what they eat and drink and that freedom shouldn’t be taken away from anyone,” Segall said. “Yes, the drinks are bad for you, but so are cigarettes and junk food and you don’t see Mayor Menino stopping promotion and advertising of those products because they offer so much money, despite their unhealthy products. I think it’s foolish.”
City buildings and departments have a six-month grace period before they’ll be required to eliminate the sale of the so-called “red” beverages. Public health employees will conduct educational workshops for city employees and also will be responsible for working with city departments to ensure that the executive order is fully implemented, whether residents like it or not.
