Canadian Economic Policy and Institutions - Assignment Example

Canadian Economic Policy and s Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, proposed that the size of soft drinks in his city should be limited to 16 ounces. Though his idea was overruled by the courts, it remains a contentious issue as to whether limiting the amount of soft drinks taken by students has an impact to their lifestyle and the society in general. The soft drinks in question are the sugar-sweetened beverages or SSBs (Edelstein 13). With the high level of lifestyle diseases in New York, Mayor Bloomberg had many reasons in putting forward his idea.

He used it not only as a control measure against the consumption of drinks that add little value to someone’s health but as a way of reducing on the lifestyle diseases prevalent in his city. The main huddle the good mayor faces is that, even with the limiting of the amount of drinks accessible in schools, the overall consumption of these drinks does not change by any reasonable amount. This could be due to the fact that while the students my not access the drinks at school; no one follows them up to ensure that they keep off them while at home.

It is thus a fight that teachers may find themselves fighting alone while the students’ parents take little part (Smith 18). The drinks expose the students to many lifestyle diseases among them obesity and general weight gain. These diseases cost the state much in terms of medical expenses and reduced productivity among the workers affected. If students can be kept off soft drinks and most SSBs, controlling the diseases shall be an easy task to undertake. Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are other direct effects of a high consumption of SSBs.

While these reduce students’ participation in the learning process, their overall effects are felt all through the consumers’ lives. Reduced productivity and high medical expenses mean little development in general (Oliver 10). The intake of SSBs has also been found out to replace the consumption of milk with the eventual effect that dental diseases like dental carries become more and more prevalent among the students. Other lifestyle diseases resulting from weak bones as a result of little intake of calcium include development of rickets and weak hair and nails.

The lack of calcium is a direct effect of consuming soft drinks most of which have little or no calcium. It is also assumed that the New York mayor had in mind that drinks and foods sold outside federal school meal programs do not necessarily meet federal nutritional standards. Since the banning of soda and leaving other drinks to be consumed has had no effect on the amount of SSBs consumed among students, it should be an effective measure to ban all beverages in this caliber. Instead, high nutritional foods and beverages should make a large part of school diets.

Since most students take SSBs for the fun of it, flavored water and low fat milk should be popularized to replace the harmful drinks. These ensure a healthy lot of students who are free from most lifestyle diseases (Taber, Chriqui, Jamie, Powell, and Chaloupka 5). The mayor was therefore right in proposing a regulation in the soft drinks available to school children. It is even cheaper buying milk compared to buying soft drinks like Red Bull. The government’s role in this area should be an active one.

Strict following of the stipulated rules should be enforced for the students’ sake. SSBs should have higher taxes to reduce consumption especially by dependent students who won’t easily afford them. The marketing of foods meant for children should also be scrutinized to ensure the young ones are not dully misdirected.Works CitedEdelstein, Sari. Nutrition In Public Health. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2010.Oliver, Eric. Fat Politics: The Real Story behind Americas Obesity Epidemic: The Real Story behind Americas Obesity Epidemic.

London: Oxford University Press, 2005.Smith, Andrew. Drinking History: Fifteen Turning Points in the Making of American Beverages. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013.Taber, Daniel., Chriqui, Jamie., Powell, Lisa. and Chaloupka, Frank. Banning All Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Middle Schools: Reduction of In-School Access and Purchasing but Not Overall Consumption. American Medical Association, 2011.