Former New York City mayor and multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg‘s policies to get people healthy are looking more on-the-mark all the time. First Bloomberg banned smoking in public spaces. It seems like a no-brainer now, with smoking-friendly spots few and far between all over the country, but when Bloomberg made it NYC law in 2003 it was controversial.
Next Bloomberg battled accusations that he was trying to run a “nanny state” when he implemented a ban on certain large sizes of sugary drinks at city restaurants. (Bloomberg’s sugary drinks regulation was eventually struck down by the courts.) But was it overkill? Not according to a recent study. In trying to promote a healthier population that would ultimately save the city money on healthcare, Bloomberg looks like he was ahead of his time. A Swedish study published in the journal of the European Society of Endocrinology found that high intake of sweetened beverages was associated with LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults), especially in high doses. By one calculation, every sweetened beverage consumed increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 20%.
