Mayor Mike Just Called You Fat

And here’s the most popular comment — from Astoria! — on the Times story about Mayor Mike banning monster-sized sodas in New York City: “This is just a stupid reaction by some rich guy who saw some fat guy drinking a Big Gulp and wants to use his power and privilege to ‘stop’ ‘those people’ from doing what offends them.” Yikes! No one likes a bossy mayor, even when he’s technically right. Also: boy oh boy, the next Mayor has a lot to live up to.

Apart from all that tsuris, the City isn’t doing a good science sales job in the slightest: “In New York City, where more than half of adults are obese or overweight, Dr. Thomas Farley, the health commissioner, blames sweetened drinks for up to half of the increase in city obesity rates over the last 30 years.” Okay:

1. lumping “obese” with “overweight” is crazy. (The obesity rate in New York City is actually somewhere around 22%.)

2. Doesn’t that basically mean New York City is the skinniest town around?

3. Probably it does: “Since the 2006–07 school year, the obesity rate in New York City’s K-8 public school students decreased 5.5 percent.”

So just think how skinny little Zarbo and Hunningly are going to be at the big weigh-in at Saint Ann’s next year!