There is no question that Philadelphia is a fat city. It was in 1999 that Philadelphia was named the Fattest City in America. This title was given by Men’s Health Magazine which looks at other factors such as commute time, disease statistics, gym membership, and even causes of death. Today, we ranked 14th in the same survey made in 1999 that placed us as the undisputed champion in having the fattest citizens.
In 1999, the Office of Health and Fitness was formed for the city of Philadelphia. There was a smoking ban that was passed in 2006. It was unpopular at the time. Also, unpopular was the Philadelphia Soda Tax which became law on the first day of 2017. It adds a penny and a half per-ounce charge on sodas, diet sodas, juices, and other sweetened beverages from any distributors within the city limits. In another post, don’t miss “Drinking Diet Soda Makes You Sick.”
The Philadelphia Soda Tax is not universally loved. As the fourth month with the tax became the fifth month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that 40 taxpaying citizens have lost their jobs because of the new tax. Well, if we keep following this line then look at all the nurses that will be out of work with fewer diabetic patients. How about the ambulance drivers? How far can we go to look at all the unemployed people as we work at getting healthy?
Diabetes in Philadelphia is an epidemic. Since I am a Diabetic, I hear the stories and do the research. Since Philadelphia has a booming healthcare and biotech corporate industry we see a lot of technology and initiatives pass through. Clearly, Americans have an issue with control and I feel that same lack of control in myself. Since learning that I was Diabetic, I picked soda, and excessive drinking of alcohol, the enemy of being healthy. Drinking all those calories keeps me from eating those calories. Soda is the easiest thing to cut out of your diet. Alcohol just happens to come with soda most nights out. It is because most of my soda intake was with booze mixed in.
