The New York City Health Department launched a campaign showing that drinking just one 20 ounce soda per day equals 50 pounds of sugar per year. As part of the campaign, subway posters ask how far people would need to walk to burn off the calories from a single sugary drink. The campaign aims to raise awareness of how sugary drinks can lead to obesity and related health issues.

1. Health Department Launches Campaign Showing How Drinking Just One Soda a Day Equals 50 Pounds of Sugar a Year 2/27/12 4:31 AM
This page is located on the NYC.gov Web site at
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2011/pr026-11.shtml
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release # 026-11
Monday, October 24, 2011
MEDIA CONTACT: (347) 396-4177
Susan Craig/Alexandra Waldhorn:PressOffice@health.nyc.gov
Health Department Launches Campaign Showing How Drinking Just One Soda a
Day Equals 50 Pounds of Sugar a Year
Subway posters map how far you’d have to walk to burn off the calories from
just one sugary drink
Oct. 24, 2011 – New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley today unveiled
a new Health Department education campaign that describes how drinking just one 20
ounce soda a day translates to eating 50 pounds of sugar a year. The 30-second TV spot
will air on major broadcast and cable TV stations over the next two months as a stark
reminder to New Yorkers about how sugary drinks can lead to obesity, which can cause
diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers. This latest installment of the
Department’s “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign was launched at an event in Times
Square today commemorating the nation’s first Food Day, a day modeled after the
popular Earth Day, but focused on healthy food and eating.
“The majority of New York City adults
are now overweight or obese, as are 4
in 10 elementary school children and
the health consequences are
staggering,” said Commissioner
Farley. “Sugary drinks are the largest
single source of added sugar in the
diet, and a child’s risk of obesity
increases with every additional daily
serving of a sugary drink.”
The TV spot is complemented by
bilingual subway posters that ask New Yorkers to think about how far they would need to
walk to burn off the calories from drinking just one sugary drink. A YouTube video shows
a man taking that calorie-burning walk across town and asks, “Are You Pouring on the
Pounds?”
One element of the campaign states that to burn off the 650 calories of a medium frozen
vanilla coffee one would need to walk 8 miles, from the Goethals Bridge to the Verrazano
Bridge. The distances are based on a 160 pound person walking 3.5 mph.
There are many healthier alternatives to sugary drinks. The “Pouring on the Pounds”
campaign encourages New Yorkers to avoid sugary beverages and quench their thirst
with water, seltzer or low-fat milk instead.
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2. Health Department Launches Campaign Showing How Drinking Just One Soda a Day Equals 50 Pounds of Sugar a Year 2/27/12 4:31 AM
New Yorkers are making some strides
against the obesity epidemic and are
beginning to turn the epidemic’s tide by
consuming less sugary drinks, especially in
some areas of the city. Between 2007 and
2010, the percentage of adults who
reported on the Health Department’s
annual telephone survey that they drank
one or more sugary drinks a day fell from
36 percent to 30 percent. In high-poverty
neighborhoods, the percentage of adults
who drank one or more sugary drinks per
day decreased from 44 percent in 2007 to
36 percent in 2010. Materials to support
schools, organizations, and encourage New
Yorkers to be “sugary drink free” are
available through the Health Department.
In addition to the “Pouring on the Pounds”
media campaigns, the Health Department has worked with over 400 community
organizations, faith-based organizations, and businesses to adopt policies and
educational campaigns, which create healthy environments by reducing sugary drink
consumption at their sites. Of the nearly 200 organizations who are actively working to
promote a healthier environment, 80% are located in the city’s highest need
neighborhoods where sugary drink consumption is the highest.
For additional information search for “Pouring on the Pounds” and “Eating Healthy” on
NYC.gov or call 311.
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