Thursday, October 15, 2009

More portion control billboard badness

My wife and I were in Chicago this past weekend to run the (bitterly cold) Chicago Marathon. We rode Amtrak from St. Louis, and on our way to Union Station in Chicago, we saw this billboard:

Hi, my name is diabetes, and I'll be your server

According to the Coke website (warning: PDF) a single serving size of Coca-Cola Classic is 8 ounces and contains 97 calories, all from high fructose corn syrup. A family of four would consume over 300 calories each of Coke-y goodness at a meal where the new 100-ounce twin-pack of Coke served as simply "enough."

I'm also not sure why the Coca-Cola Company would go to the odd measure of bottling 50 ounces of Coke as a single unit, if the bottles would always be packaged as twin-packs, effectively creating a 100-ounce unit. Were they worried that even the least savvy and nutritionally-minded consumer might flinch at the sight of a single 100-ounce bottle of liquid candy?

Of course, every person has the right to choose how much Coke to drink, but doesn't it seem a little irresponsible for Coke to be actively marketed in 100-ounce quantities as "enough" for a single meal?

Just down the road from this sign at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, a recent study found that "sugary soda consumption may be associated with kidney damage, although moderate consumption of 1 or fewer sodas [daily] does not appear to be harmful." But Coke is actively marketing more than three servings in a single meal as "enough."

It is enough. Enough to make you or your child obese and contribute to your eventual kidney failure.

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