by Allison Micarelli-Sokoloff
September 26, 2010

Two out of three U.S. adults and nearly one in three U.S. children are overweight or obese. In New York City, the overweight or obesity rate is 60 percent including nearly 4 in 10 children from kindergarten through 8^th grade. Riding the subway in New York City, it’s hard not to see the obesity epidemic—first hand. It’s also hard not to notice a new public awareness campaign addressing the city’s obesity problem.

Launched last month by the New York City Department of Health, the campaign, “Don’t drink yourself fat” is very much in-your-face. And maybe that’s how it should be. A big culprit? Soda. As previously reported by baby gooroo, the average U.S. child gets 10 percent of his or her daily caloric intake from sugar-sweetened drinks.

Simple and to-the-point, the campaign’s bright, bold posters urge New Yorkers to stop consuming soda by comparing packets of sugar to sugar-sweetened drinks. One 20-ounce soda doesn’t seem like such an indulgence? Think again. “You just ate 16 packets of sugar.”

The campaign—which comes on the heels of research showing that New York City adults who consume one or more sugar-sweetened drinks daily dropped 12 percent between 2007-2009—is the next step in a long line of efforts to reduce the consumption of sugar (efforts that included a proposed, and failed, 18 percent sales tax on soda). And at a time when obesity has surpassed smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., any awareness is welcome.

“Sugary drinks shouldn’t be a part of our everyday diets,” says Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner, in an official press release. “Soda has fueled the obesity epidemic as portion sizes have grown and marketing of these products has intensified. We still have a long way to go to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, but it’s encouraging to see that New Yorkers are starting to move away from these products.”

As part of the campaign, the department of health has developed a Community Action Kit to educate businesses and organizations and help them provide healthy beverage choices to their employees, clients, and members. Here’s to hoping New York City can kick the sugar habit—for good.