If Americans are out of shape due to poor exercise, too much sugar, too much salt, etc., can the outcomes be expected to be stellar? To what degree can we hold the physicians, surgeons and hospitals responsible for reported longer length of hospital stays and poor outcomes?

The soda ban was an imperfect beginning, surely, but it was a beginning. It was not going to end our sugar addiction any more than making bars smoke-free was going to get the city to en masse kick the smoking habit. It was a one small factor in a complex equation.

It is unclear how long it will take before a decision is reached. While I do hope that the decision is made in favor of the city, regardless of the outcome, Mayor Bloomberg and the city accomplished a great deal.

Did the Bloomberg proposal have faults? You bet. Did it have loopholes? Sure. Would it present an enforcement nightmare? Probably, although not nearly as bad as critics have suggested. But that does that mean we sit back and do nothing?

New York City's ban on giant sodas was struck down by a judge this week, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to appeal the ruling. Bloomberg, who pionee...

Mary Poppins may have had the best intentions in mind, but if "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," the new mantra is "no sodas today keeps the doctor away."

Address the business concerns head on. If minority businesses are unduly burdened by the soda ban's exemptions, level the playing field to include convenience stores, and it would not hurt to tighten up "milk-based."

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.

As my colleague and I illustrate in our recent paper, the trend toward larger portions coincides with the availability of calories in the U.S. food supply and the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. So what can we do about this continued trend toward larger portions?

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.