Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Nanny Bloomberg Wonders If You <Em>Really</em> Wanted Large Fries With That
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 10, 2012
Modified Jan 10, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 10, 2012
Modified Jan 10, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Nanny Bloomberg's Department of Health is letting itself go this term! Just three years ago they were terrifying New Yorkers with soda that turned into human fat in the air and now they are resorting to fat chicks on scooters and expanding hamburger line graphs. Even compared the department's recent "casual smoking will KILL you" campaign this one seems lackluster. Still, they got us to talk about them?
In the latest set of English and Spanish print ads from the Department [PDF], the city reminds New Yorkers that over the years "portions have grown" and "so has obesity, which can lead to many health problems." To illustrate the point they show black and white photos of overweight people (including a man with an amputated leg) and color photos of small, medium and large fast food items (labeled as "then to now").
And the city isn't exactly making its stats up. "A beverage at a fast food chain has increased fourfold since 1955," the DOH says in its release announcing the ads, "from 7 ounces to 32 ounces. During the same time, french fry portions have more than doubled, from 2.4 ounces to 5.4 ounces. As a result, recent studies show that one-third of New Yorkers eating at chain restaurants consume more than 1,000 calories at lunchtime alone." For the record? Most people need to eat about 2,000 calories per day and kids need even less.
To help anyone looking to lose the weight, the city also has a bunch of informational packets available on the DOH website here. All well and good, but really, at this point we expected better grosser from the DOH.
Tagged
ad campaigns
department of health
doh
fast food
fat
mayor bloomberg
obesity
portion
portion size
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .