Soda companies pin obesity on gaming
As we all know, obesity is a serious issue especially in the
Because of the increasing number of overweight citizens in
According to them video games are the real problem, they’re the ones keeping young people in the house, preventing them from going outside and burning those extra calories. In their opinion the mayor should go after computer games companies, since they’re the true villains in this story. So, in other words, gaming is guilty of not allowing children to get out and burn the calories YOUR SHIT put into them to begin with…
How hypocritical can you get man?!? Sure computer video games can play a part in kids becoming overweight, but to say they’re the ones to blame while you get rich by selling stuff that’s mostly sugar and chemicals, is just sick. While you’re at it, why don’t you blame the war in
Read more HERE
I lost 7 pounds after I switched from drinking soda as my drink of choice (usually Coke) and started drinking tea, instead. Of course, it was over three months, but seven pounds is seven pounds.
Not much other than that, for a life-style change. I can’t do much more than sit at the office, and when I get home, it’s usually dinner and sleeping.
Anyway, how does the ABA explain the Wii, then, if video games are to blame?
Comment by Y'arr | December 18, 2007
They might as well blame TV to, because before computer games kids would sit on the couch and watch TV. That’s why I hate soda, theres nothing good in it.
Comment by SnowGod | December 19, 2007
Holy crap! Are you serious? A fat lazy kids sit’s on his ass all day playing video games, drinking soda, eating chips, ho ho’s, and McDonalds and you’re going to blame the company that bottled the soda?
It’s not their fault, or the video game’s, for that matter. You can only blame kids and parents for the stupid choices kids and parents make.
The reason kids are fat is because THEY eat too much, THEY sit on their asses playing games, THEY don’t get enough exercises, THEIR PARENTS buy lousy, unhealthy food, THEIR PARENTS don’t turn off the TV and games, THEIR PARENTS don’t make sure they get outside.
All the taxes and fees and and surcharges and deposits in the world won’t stop lazy people from being lazy.
Second, what’s to explain about the wii?
Comment by Rick | December 19, 2007
If you ask me, video games are the real problems. When i was into games, all I ate was junk food and get dumb downed. Now that I stopped, I cook delicious and healthy food and spend at least an hour exercising.
And as for the Wii, its going 10 steps forward from before. And no argument, it is alot better. Once they are on their 2nd and 3rd generation, I will be back on games.
Comment by Jaap | December 19, 2007
And not just the Wii, but the Sony EyeToy before it, which published tennis and martial arts games that required people to jump around making themselves look like idiots.
Why is it always video games? Because they’re a scapegoat. Video game companies don’t fight back. They just continue making the games that are denounced daily by every health official from Afghanistan to Zulu Nation.
Comment by Mark | December 19, 2007
I hate this BS!!!
if i wanna drink nothing but coke all day
LET ME
we’re no idiots
we know it can make you fat and it is bad for your health
but who the hell are they to prohibit (or discourage in this case) me from doing something wich harms no1 but ME???!!!
I don’t like people who drink tea I think it makes em selfrightous bastards!!
but am i lobbying for an extra fee to discourage people from buying it??
NO!!!
and why not??
CUZ I DON”T CARE WHAT YOU DO TO YOURSELF!!!! as long is it doesn’t hurt any1 around you i couldn’t care less!!
(note i know drinking tea won’t affect your personality it was an example)
Comment by I hate BS like this | December 19, 2007
This story was completely stolen from GameRush (http://gamerush.zoomshare.com/files/news/002476_Soda_companies_blame_video_games_for_obese_children.htm).
Comment by Huh? | December 19, 2007
what the shit I’m a gamer and i weigh around 120 which is less than my healthy weight limit so they need to shut the hell up with that nonsense.
Comment by lol wut | December 19, 2007
i drink 2 redbulls a day and at least 1 soda a day as well and i’m 130 lbs 6′0″ and still healthy
fat people are just fucking fat
Comment by bobfaget | December 19, 2007
Why not just blame the damn parents for being lazy and not cooking a healthy meal or buying soda?! The schools have already taken out vending machines that distribute soda or other sugar-rich liquids.
Stop blaming video games or the soda companies; in my opinion, the parents are to blame.
Comment by Bobby | December 19, 2007
I’ve stopped drinking soda for over 2 years and started drinking more water. I would top a gallon per day or a bit less of water.
Sure, 1 zip of sprite or coke every 3 or 4 months when nothing else is there to drink (rare occasions) ..
If you want to kill your thirst, drink water. Soda gives you more thirst.
Comment by john | December 19, 2007
After cutting down my soda consumption from going through a 12 pack every 2 days to 20oz every 1 to 2 days, i went from 260 to 235. thats it, i still play ungodly hours of UT2K4 and enjoy all of my video games.
Comment by T.D. | December 19, 2007
I lost seven pounds after I ditched the video games and started the Coca Cola diet. Every morning I walk 15 minutes to my local store and buy a gallon of Coca Cola and guzzle it right there on the spot. The walking almost negates all of that sugar calories I am drinking, but without videogames distracting me from my morning Coca Cola walks I have lost 7 pounds.
For the next stage in my weight loss plan I have decided to give up rock music, Pokemon cards and Beanie Baby collecting. This should strip another 7 pounds for each past time I give up. If I give up masturbating then I can reward my efforts by drinking another 2 gallons of Coca Cola a day. I don’t want to give up masturbating, but I fear that it is the next logical step as my sexual appetite and ability to maintain an erection has been severely impaired by all the sugar and chemicals I drink in my daily Coca Colas.
I also assume that the feelings of depression and lethargy I have been getting as I drink more and more Coca Cola is just a side effect from all the happiness I am meant to be getting from this drink, the happiness that I see on the Coca Cola advertisements will come one day. One gallon at a time.
Comment by Johnny Honest | December 19, 2007
While I agree Soda is to blame, Mayor Newsom saying “sugar drinks” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s the High Fructuose Corn Syrup that makes soda so unhealthy. People drink just as much soda now as they did 20 years ago. Now it’s made with HFCS instead of sugar. Sugar can be easily metabolized by the body but HFCS is hard to digest, incredibly fattening and overall a terrible product to put into the body. I switched my soda intake from HFCS based to products like Clearly Canadian and lost 8 pounds in a little over a month.
All in all though corporate PR machines aren’t even trying to lie anymore. At least not with anything resembling creativity.
Comment by Chris O'Rourke | December 19, 2007
Folks — The ABA statement is from me and I would appreciate you taking the time to understand the context of our statement and the point we were making about the mayor’s ridiculous plan (which is getting lambasted in the national media, by the way).
We were neither bashing video games nor blaming them for obesity any more than soda. If you read our full statement, it attacks the mayor’s flawed strategy and logic of singling out one food or beverage as the cause for a complex problem of childhood obesity — thus deserving of unique taxation. Our point is that it would be equally flawed to single out video games — and SF’s high-tech industry — as a driving source for obesity. (And if you aren’t aware — there are advocacy groups that do blame video games and computers as much as soda for childhood obesity and think they should be regulated in ways similar to foods and beverages to discourage “screen time” by kids and teens.)
Here’s what our statement said: “We certainly hope the mayor doesn’t pursue the flawed strategy of taxing retailers who sell soft drinks. Not only would it have no impact on childhood obesity, it would highlight a significant lack of understanding about the complexity of this problem by government leaders. It makes no sense to single out one food or beverage product to address and issue created by a lack of balance between calories consumed and calories burned. If one were to follow this FLAWED LOGIC (emphasis added here for purpose of this blog entry), the mayor also should tax all the high-tech companies in San Francisco for their culpability in contributing to childhood obesity through their video games, computer games, and Internet search engines that keep kids glued to their chairs instead of outside playing and burning calories.”
Of course, Newsom’s not going to tax video games or SF high-tech companies…nor should he…nor were we advocating he do so. We were pointing out how ridiculous and FLAWED it is to begin singling out any one cause for obesity and taxing it. There isn’t one cause. And there’s no one factor that is a greater contributor than any other factor.
Look, I’ve got three teenagers so I’ve got more money invested in video games and laptops (one for each kid and wife) than anything else. I’m a fan and “investor” — though a ticked one now that my kids whoop me at Madden and just about every other game I used to dominate them at.
But, as a society, we need to get away from these ridiculous ploys to address tough issues by simply “taxing something.” It’s soundbite activism that does nothing to solve the problem. Politicians, and many parents, are afraid to do the hard work of actually teaching their kids how to balance all foods and all activities into their lives, including drinking a good, tasty soda while you’re playing Halo. As many of you wrote in this blog tonight — you partake in both soda and gaming and are just fine. Of course, you are…you know how to balance your lifestyle.
Bottom line — we’re not bashing video games. Whether you realize it or not, video games get blamed for obesity by advocates/zeolots just as we do. We were drawing a parallel to mock the concept. I could have made the same point about pizza, ice cream, steak, TV, movies, etc….(Save the keystrokes that I probably should have used those instead.)
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to get the full story and get our perspective. I do hope you help push back on this tax. It is ridiculous. It isn’t going to make a difference. And it does open the door for any food, beverage or activity perceived as contributing to obesity to be regulated or taxed in some way.
As for industry, check out our National School Beverage Guidelines on our website http://www.ameribev.org. You’ll see we’re doing some tough and ambitious things to do our part for kids in schools.
Best,
Kevin Keane
SVP @ American Beverage Association
Comment by Kevin Keane | December 19, 2007
Wow… Your completely right about the soda companies being hypocritical but completely off on agreeing with the mayor. Government has no business controlling our diets without our asking for help. The blame for obesity should be placed on parents and the children themselves.
Comment by Nope | December 19, 2007
A friend of mine years ago weighed in at 230 lbs. He completely quit drinking soda, and completely eliminated sugar from his diet, and became more active in sports like windsurfing and roller skating. The boy’s weight went down to 160 lbs. I hardly recognized the guy.
Sugar had everything to do with this. The processed sugar we consume is a fairly concentrated form of something any of us can get from fruits and vegetables. Our bodies are not designed to handle this concentrated form of sugar in processed foods and soda. Hence, we gain weight. But it makes food taste good, so we keep buying it.
The Wii is the first computer-related device that actually requires you to move around. Some of the games are so successful with respect to weight loss some of developing exercise plans around it.
To stay alive and making money, it’s in the best interest of some companies to focus the blame elsewhere.
Comment by BJ | December 19, 2007
How about you people quit eating as you play your games! Think about it…..Your supposed to eat 3 square meals a day. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner…..right. Usually the fat gamers are the ones sucking down the Mountain Dew and eating chips while they’re play games. The skinny gamers are the ones drinking Red Bull and eating 1,2,3 meals a day. Usually I will eat whenever I get up, Then play games all day, then eat Dinner. I’ll skip lunch all together. Because I’m to busy being A Gamer 4 Life!!! Think about it!!!
Comment by Matt | December 19, 2007
how bout laying the blame on the parents? isnt it the parent or guardians job to regulate the diet and exercise routine of a child? sure soda may make you fat as well as fast food, lazy lifestile and other things, but nothing makes you eat drink or do(or not do) them. responsibility starts in the home and expands from there, parents are the first to blame, then little jimmys soda habit
Comment by obvious | December 19, 2007
How about the American lifestyle? The same soda beverages served here are served all around the world, and US seems to be the major country with an obesity problem. How about instead of blaming soda drinks, video games, fast food restaurants, or whatever we blame the person.
Comment by T Morrison | December 19, 2007
if kids were outside getting exercise it wouldn’t really matter what they were drinking and if you play games and drink soda your gunna be 10X as fat, so in retrospect a little bit of balance goes a long long way
Comment by Tim | December 19, 2007
What’s next? Beer companies blame the superbowl for obesity?
Comment by MikeT | December 19, 2007
I’ve lost weight playing video games because I don’t stop to eat!
Comment by Cory | December 19, 2007
I love your article, and while I do believe what you are saying, do you have a source for this. You can sprout all the “news” you want, but I would really like to see where you are getting your information from. But as for you article, I would have to agree with a majority of the other readers here. The parents need to step up and and actually take responsibility for their children. All this is, is people unwilling to take the blame for their own problems….It’s pathetic.
Comment by Aj | December 19, 2007
Face it, every dorrito munching cheesy finger kid out there just finds something to become lazy. It’s called distracting. Tv, Games, you name it, its the consumers who is responsible for being a cow.
Comment by poop | December 19, 2007
I see these people bashing the idea that soft drink manufacturers aren’t responsible for the obesity problem in kids. I can see that side of the argument — from my side, that is.
Sure, there are lots of people who don’t get the exercise they should, and that’s a major part of the problem. (I started walking up to my 4th floor office every day, and I’ve already shed 12 lbs over 4 months without changing my eating habits.) That’s a personal responsibility issue, and parents should feel ashamed because their kids don’t know any better right off the bat.
But these prepackaged food makers share responsibility in that they market their products hyper-aggressively. If they made healthy foods, no one would be complaining that these companies were flooding the media with ads.
Comment by shadedmagus | December 19, 2007
One comment said, “But these prepackaged food makers share responsibility in that they market their products hyper-aggressively. If they made healthy foods, no one would be complaining that these companies were flooding the media with ads.” Many of the companies that “market Aggressively” also have lines of food that are healthy. Bottom freaking line is that the government needs to have their little paws into every aspect of our lives. Parents need to STEP UP! If the kid is too fat the parents need to take action. Buy the kid a bike and a first aid kit and limit video game/tv/computer/internet time. If the parents don’t do that it’s their fault, not food companies, not schools, not video game companies, just Parents.
Comment by Snoball | December 19, 2007
I’m with Rick of comment #3. It isn’t one or the other, it’s both and a million other things, all of which are the responsibility of the end user.
More importantly, comment #15 suggests that this is also the stance of the ABA. If that’s the whole story, then shame on the Herald Tribune for its all-too-common, misleading, sensationalist news, and shame on this site for jumping on it without bothering to better source it. And if #15 turns out to be a sham, then shame on lazy posters who complained about the article but didn’t bother doing further research themselves.
Comment by Daeval | December 19, 2007
For some reason, videogamers have a stereotype of being inactive lummox’, who aren’t to smart and eat too much crap. That’s just wrong!
I, for one, am a prolific gamer who ways in at the national idea of a healthy weight, my grades are some of the highest in all my classes, and I end up burning all the extra calories I eat by walking around my school between classes (It has a lot of stairs).
Soft drink manufacturers are just trying to save their own asses by pointing the finger at a group of people who aren’t well known. They don’t want to blame fast food joints, because that’s where they make the most money. They are, in effect, being paid to advertise their product at fast food joints all over the world.
On average, gamers aren’t even particularly over weight. Have any of those pompous CEO’s looked at the national (and by that I mean the US and Canadian) statistics? The average weight of a gamer is a healthy one, only a couple of pounds heavier.
Comment by Me | December 20, 2007
Who eats/drinks during intense gaming? Fuck the soda company. We’ll take water or Mountain Dew [it’s a HUGE sponsor of video games, like Halo].
Comment by Allen | December 20, 2007
I drink soda every day and im fat who cares does it hurt you? didnt think so, Go die in a fire plz.
Comment by Im a Fatty | May 16, 2008