Weight-loss leaders back Bloomberg soda plan (Diet news)

Weight-loss leaders back Bloomberg soda plan
New York Times reported

There was David Burwick, the president of Weight Watchers North America; Dana Fiser, the chief executive of the weight-loss program Jenny Craig; Dr. Arthur Agatston, the inventor of the South Beach Diet; Dr. Howard Shapiro, the founder of Picture Perfect Weight Loss; Dr. Pierre Dukan, the creator of the protein-based Dukan Diet that has taken France by storm; and Bob Greene, the founder of the Best Life diet regimen, who is best known for being Oprah Winfrey’s personal trainer.

Like movie stars lining up to endorse the next big celebrity workout, the weight-loss specialists have all thrown their support behind Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal to limit sales of big sugary drinks.

Announced a little more than a week before the New York City Board of Health is to vote on the restriction, the endorsements are the latest sally in the mayor’s public relations offensive on behalf of the proposal, which has reignited a national debate over obesity and drawn criticism from soft-drink industry officials who say the ban would deprive consumers of free choice.

On Tuesday morning, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mr. Bloomberg at a news conference at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, there was Mr. Burwick, declaring, “There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about obesity but very little action.”