Policies that gain controversy in their engagement with obesity are helpful for making a very public (yet uncomfortably avoided) issue further visible. It's hard to talk about obesity, private or public. Policies like the soda rule can be vehicles for those discussions to take place.

I applaud Mayor Bloomberg's dedication and willingness to take a stand against opponents to the ban and all the name calling criticism he has received. At the same time, banning supersize soda alone misses the point.

New York City's Board of Health recently approved Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to limit the sizes of sweetened beverages. The regulation restricts the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and delis.

One week before the Board of Health is scheduled to vote on Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to limit the sizes of oversized drinks, Weight Watchers and other diet companies are supporting the proposal.

The mayor of New York City is not banning the sale of soda. Nor is he telling consumers that they can't drink soda. Rather, he is calling attention to how much should be considered a reasonable amount to drink at a time.

Someday, you will be able to tell your grandchildren that in the olden days, you could go to a special store where you could buy 64 ounces of soda in one single container. Their eyes will bulge and their jaws will drop.

The fulfillment of our citizens' lives depends on the realization that their destiny, specifically, their health, is far more under their control than they now realize.

When New York City's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced last week that he planned to propose a municipal ban on large sodas in restaurants, he trigg...