Sugary Warning Labels

There is now legislation being pushed by Councilman Nick Mosby in Baltimore City that would require businesses that sell sugary drinks to post warning signs about the "dangers" of the products.* The signs would warn potential consumers that drinks such as Coke, Pepsi and Gatorade contribute to obesity, tooth decay and diabetes.

Now, on the surface, I won't deny that these warning signs would be somewhat truthful. It probably is unhealthy for someone to drink a dozen Cokes in a day. But do we really need a warning sign to tell us this? Are the people in Baltimore City really this stupid? Well, the City Council sure seems to think so...

The City Health Commissioner also supports the proposed legislation. She points out that sugary drinks are leading contributor to childhood obesity. I beg to differ with the commissioner. I think the leading cause of fat kids is inactivity. And if you want to want tangible scapegoat, you can start with cell phones and video games. Bottom line: Kids today spend way too much time on their ass!

Are the diets of today's kids and the kids of yesteryear really that much different. Hmm, I don't think so. Back in the day, I remember every kid routinely walking around with a Coke or Pepsi in their hand. Keep in mind, I grew during the time when 7-11 introduced us to Big Gulp. And there were a lot of kids walking around with those things too. And most of them were not overweight. By the way, the only diet soda back in the day was Tab. But it tasted like battery acid, so no one ever drank it.

I can speak from first hand experience on this. You see, I grew up as one of the "fat kids" in my neighborhood (although I always preferred the term "husky"). My childhood dentist can attest that I had the biggest sweet tooth west of the Chesapeake. Along with soda, I used to tear up a box of Mike & Ike's (which were basically sugar-filled gel-caps). And, I'm not making this up....my mom would have to hide the Tastykakes in my house because if I found the stash, I would put away a half-dozen Tasty-Klairs in one sitting. She would keep changing the hiding place to stay one step ahead of me. So, it was like an Easter egg hunt everyday in our house. Now, I was indeed overweight, but I wasn't morbidly obese. You know why? Because I frequently moved my husky ass.

This might come as a surprise to some of you youngsters but once upon a time, kids used to walk from point A to point B. And they used to actually play real ball in a real park instead of playing a virtual version in front of a big screen TV. And we weren't even Amish!

But in today's world of "it's never my fault", it's much more convenient to blame Coke or Pepsi for the childhood obesity problem.

Soft drinks have been around for over a hundred years. Now, all of a sudden, we need warning labels? And let's say the legislation passes and the warning labels eventually find their way to a 7-11 near you. Do you really think kids will pay attention to them? From the high school drop out rate in Baltimore City, a lot kids probably won't even be able to read the signs. Hey maybe we can pass even more legislation that will require a picture of Mr. Yuck on every soda bottle. It wouldn't surprise me at all....

kw

* http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-sugary-beverages-20160111-story.html