Research finds NYC soda ban would cut 63 calories per fast food trip: Would that have any impact?

A couple drink soda beverages in New York, May 31, 2012. A public debate on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to ban sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces from restaurants kicks off Tuesday in New York City.

/ EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GettyImages

(CBS News) On the heels of a public debate on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on big sodas, new research finds if the ban were actually enacted, people could conceivably cut their calorie intake.

Whether that will add up over time to an actual health benefit remains up for discussion.

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Pictures: New York City's proposed ban on big sodas

Mayor Bloomberg's proposed ban caps a maximum size of 16 ounces for sugary drinks - sold in cups or bottles - at food establishments under the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's jurisdiction. That includes restaurants, fast food chains, delis, street carts and movie theaters. Drinks sold at grocery and convenience stores - including two-liter bottles and 7-11's "Big Gulp" fountain drinks - would be exempt from the ban.

New research led by Dr. Brian Elbel, an assistant professor of population health and health policy at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York City, analyzed what impact Mayor Bloomberg's proposal would have on a typical consumer's calorie intake.

Elbel and fellow NYU researchers pooled data from two studies that included 1,624 sales receipts listing a non-milkshake beverage (dairy products are excluded from the proposed ban), which were collected from diners at three different fast-food restaurants in New York City, Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and Baltimore from 2008 to 2010. Their research is published in a correspondence to the editor in the July 23 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Based on the receipts and corresponding survey information collected from the studies, the researchers determined that 62 percent of beverages bought at these restaurants would be over 16 ounces and subject to the mayor's new proposal. Elbel explained to HealthPop in an interview that if 100 percent of all fast food consumers switched to a 16-ounce drink from their previous order, the average consumer would take in 63 fewer calories per trip to a fast-food restaurant.

Elbel also determined if 100 percent of sugary drink purchasers alone switched to the smaller soda, the reduction may be as high as 74 calories per fast food trip.

However that's assuming nobody opts to purchase an additional 16-ounce beverage - people can buy as many as they like at these establishments under Bloomberg's proposal - which Elbel conceded may not be likely. His research found that if only 30 percent of consumers reduced their intake to a 16-ounce beverage, the decrease in calories would be negligible.

However If the mayor's proposal completely backfires and 80 percent of consumers opt to purchase two 16-ounce drinks, calorie intake from sugar-sweetened beverages would actually increase, the research found.

Elbel is set to present his findings during the first of three public hearings beginning Tuesday on the mayor's proposal.

Would a best-case scenario of 63 fewer calories per person per trip to a fast food restaurant really make a dent in a diner's health?

"I'd probably say no to that," said Nutritionist Karen Congro, director of the Wellness for Life Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, in an interview with HealthPop. "But it might get them to think about where their calories are coming from."

Congro said calories are only "part of the problem" from drinking too much soda, and sugary drinks could affect how the body processes sugar, potentially leading to diabetes. But she doesn't feel a ban would do much to boost New Yorkers' health if they aren't educated on all the health risks. She said television ads and signs or brochures in places where drinks are sold might be more effective at helping people make better choices than simply eliminating a larger sized cup.

"If somebody doesn't know [the health risks], they'll just go out and buy two," she said.

The American Beverage Association, which has been campaigning against the proposal throughout New York City, reacted to the new research.

"A letter to the editor isn't an actual study, so commenting on an assertion with so many holes is difficult," Karen Hanretty, vice president of public affairs at the American Beverage Association, told HealthPop in an email. "However, 150 years of research finds that people consume what they want."

Elbel acknowledged his research had limitations, since it only looked at one scenario of sugary drink consumption at fast-food restaurants, while the mayor's ban would also impact diners at other New York City eateries.

He said even if the soda ban reduced calorie intake as his research suggests, there's still more to be done.

"This alone is not going to solve the obesity problem," Elbel told HealthPop, adding that research suggests most people take in 250 calories more than they should through overeating and drinking. But if used effectively with other strategies, he said, "There's some good evidence that [the ban] could be influential."

8 Photos

New York City's ban on big sodas

[Usfgirl86]

Calorie counts are the key to losing weight; however, just reducing the amount of sodas allowed to be sold at once is useless. Limiting the amount of sodas to be sold at one time is not going to reduce obesity, because the same people are going to keep buying the same sodas over and over and over again. People are allowed to make their own choices and those who are obese make the choice to be so. It is not a disease like most people are making it out to be, it's a choice! Instead of limiting soda and trying to tell people what they can and cannot do in the land of freedom, maybe the mayor should put in some tax incentives for those who go to the gym, buy healthy food and live healthy lives. If you make it cheaper to be healthy, majority of people would make the choice to be healthy.

[Nate650]

Calorie counts are useless. The real important info on a food is the ingredients it contains and the level of processing it underwent. If you had a choice of a 500 calorie Big Mac and a 700 calorie organic/grass-fed burger free of preservatives, HFCS, trans fat, etc., take the latter every time.

[lloydbest1]

I'm not sure that you can legislate "good sense". And even if you can, the cost of enforcement would be prohibitive.

Soda is probably one of the worst things you can drink other than hard liquor - and even that's only a maybe. Not only does it contribute to tooth decay, it rips up your electrolyte balance and actually makes you thirstier. Does me, anyway. I quit drinking that rot years ago. Even my kids, who used to go through soda pop like it was water and they just spent three weeks in the Sahara, have all but completely given it up.

Let's not even get into its contribution to secondary diabetes.

There is virtually no nutrition other than the empty calories and given that most of the sweetened stuff is from high-fructose corn syrup (not that ordinary sucrose is any better) is a recipe for all manner of metabolic syndrome. And as loaded with all manner of benzoates and other (possibly) carcinogenic additives and preservatives as it is, has convinced me that soft drinks in general are hideous enough to sterilize frogs at parts per million concentrations.

The artificially sweetened stuff is even worse.

But ban the stuff? I'm really ambivalent about that one and I'm one of those out-of-control "librul" elements the very thought of which gives EmpireGeorge hives. As much as a "Nanny State" enthusiast as I am, there IS such a thing as too much "gov'mint" interference in our lives. But having said that, we really need to exercise more self-control - especially with regard to our consumption of comfort foods.

[erasmus111]

Cutting out soda would have an impact on obesity. There is no question about that. But I doubt banning the big containers of it will work. People that are addicted to it will just buy more. And telling an American he can't do something, well that just means he will do it even more! He will do it just for spite, even if it kills him.

[EmpireGeorge______--]

I think you get it, please read my comment response below.

and you are right, telling anyone, especially kids they "can't" do something, just makes them want to do it.

But, I do agree, cutting out sugarary drinks can have an impact on obesity.....but they shouldn't be forced by their government, either state, city or federal.

[EmpireGeorge______--]

no, because the nanny mayor doesn't determine my level of thirst, I do.

[h-bogan]

Sounds like you need a babysitter if you think soda hydrates and quenches thirst.

[erasmus111]

Soda DEHYDRATES, George. It does not actually quench your thirst. It makes you want more.

I have a family member that went to the emergency 3 times because he felt dizzy. All 3 times they ran tests to see what was wrong, and each time they found nothing. And all 3 times they asked him if he drank soda. They figured he was dehydrated. They told him that pop dehydrates you.

He was also told that soda can cause Pancreatic cancer.

I have a cousin that used to drink soda and quit. She lost 40 lbs. Her doctor told her that soda is DEADLY.