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.

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.

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.