Super Eco

Photo credit: New York City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

Glug, glug, glug ... Ahhh. Nothing like a nice, cold glass of slimy, frothing fat globules.

Thus ends New York City's appalling new anti-soda video, which shows a man guzzling down what turns out to be a graphically realistic glass of fat. The city's "Are You Pouring on the Pounds?" campaign, which launched print ads earlier this fall, connects the dots for soda-guzzling consumers: drinking just one can of soda a day can add up to 10 pounds of weight in a year.

Americans are gobbling 200 to 300 more calories a day than we did 30 years ago, and nearly half of those extra calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks. It's clear that consumers' perspective on what constitutes a beverage worth drinking may be more than a little askew. Adding to the confusion is a clamor of prepared teas, sports and vitamin drinks, many of which appear to be healthy choices yet are as packed with sugar as soda.

So maybe it's about time for a graphic representation of the fizzy failure that is soda. Take a look for yourself, and let us know if your craving for an ice-cold Coke has let up a little.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suggests replacing soda with water, seltzer or milk and offers these tips for healthier drinking:

• Drink plenty of water.
• Choose fat-free or 1% milk.
• Switch from juice to whole fruit.
• Skip sports drinks and "energy" drinks.
• Watch out for coffee and tea drinks and shakes.
• Downsize drinks.