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Blame Game: drink companies say videogames make you fat photo

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom recently proposed that larger stores should be charged a fee for selling soft drinks that contain high-fructose corn syrup. This was proposed in attempts to trim the figures of his city's residents, and the money raised would go to anti-obesity programs.

We'll agree that non-diet soda is a devil to a gamer's waist line, but hitting stores with surcharges isn't gong to help anything, and soda addicts will continue to drink them. 

Of course, the American Beverage Association likes the idea even less:

"It makes no sense to single out any one single cause of obesity, which is a complex problem.," said Kevin Keane, a senior vice president. He goes on to say that the mayor should aim his ire at computer and video game companies, as they lure gamers inside when they should "be outside burning calories."

We know it's not that simple. Sure, soda can pack on pounds, and day long bouts of Halo 3 don't allow for much fitness time, but we know plenty of slim and trim soda guzzling gamers.

One thing's for sure: being a videogames journalist makes it very easy to get fat.

[Via and thanks to Official Xbox Magazine








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Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools. Meet the rest of the team



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24 comments | showing # 1 to 24
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BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:04
BluDesign
IT'S TRUE!!!!

See! Proof.



There are way too many calories in that video game for me to consider it.
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:08
BluDesign
Well, shit. Your post's image didn't load when I posted my pic. Now I just look redundant.

Ah well.
disneyninja's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:17
disneyninja
yay! let's blame each other then advertise together!
foxhound009's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:17
foxhound009
take the videogames away.. they'll watch tv instead...
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:19
Y0j1mb0
Am I the only that thinks that Mountain Dew Game Fuel tastes like shit?
disneyninja's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:19
disneyninja
well reading books leaves you idle as well, so does knitting, drawing, doing crossword puzzles...

and i did like that version of mountain dew, although pitch black was better.
Spykron's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:20
Spykron
i know some guys who eat like fat kids abut are wicked skinny. its the metabolism. theyre fat on the inside.
Magesx's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:20
Magesx
Beverages make people play videogames.

What now, bitches?
slayoyayo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:22
slayoyayo
Anyone who doesnt see the correlation between the obesity epidemic and the low cost of high fructose corn syrup is a moron. HFCS is the cheapest sweetener available, which is why it's in so many fucking things. It's also one of the worst sweeteners for your body because it's one of the hardest to digest.

Theres a clear difference in taste, too. Mexican Coca-Cola made from cane sugar FTW.
Faraday's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:25
Faraday
"It makes no sense to single out any one single cause of obesity, which is a complex problem."

He goes on to say that the mayor should aim his ire at computer and video game companies, as they lure gamers inside when they should "be outside burning calories."

What?
disneyninja's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:30
disneyninja
you can get soda in the US made with cane sugar. Specialty stores will sell pure cane sugar Dr. Pepper and Jones now offers pure can sugar counterparts to their flavors.
PwnDaddy's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:31
PwnDaddy
Lol, cause yeah, it's all the Dr. Pepper I consume in a day, not the fact that I consume it sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours a day.

One of these days, I'm going to invent a machine that forcefully censors stupid people from the Internet. I'll make millions.
jeep's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:36
jeep
wow...i for one am a skinny gamer...i attribute it to a cane sugar allergy so i dont drink sodas
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:42
AgentMOO
I lost a lot of weight when I switched from regular to diet soda and started drinking coffee black. There's no reason to put the absurd amounts of sugar from soda in your body on a daily basis. Once you've stopped drinking it for a while you notice how disgusting and syrupy all of these sodas taste.
brad drac's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:46
brad drac
The fees wouldn't do shit anyway. Over here, drink is ridiculously expensive(over $7 a pint average in a pub), but being as it's ireland, it doesn't stop half the country getting pissed near nightly.

Also, wii burns calories. And what slayoyayo said, he clearly knows more about this shit than I.
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 11:51
AgentMOO
I lost a lot of weight when I switched from regular to diet soda and started drinking coffee black. There's no reason to put the absurd amounts of sugar from soda in your body on a daily basis. Once you've stopped drinking it for a while you notice how disgusting and syrupy all of these sodas taste.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 13:33
Jetsetlemming
Diet soda is worse for you than non-diet because of what they replace the sweetener with. I'd rather take corn syrup over aspartame any day. You're a dumbass if you think soda, or anything, is good for you just because they slap the word "diet" on it.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 14:02
king3vbo
Game Fuel... *drool*

I love that stuff
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 14:21
AgentMOO
IMO, Black coffee, Beer and water are all the liquids you need
Nassimo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 15:05
Nassimo
These lies are what make people fat!!!!
Aaron Mxy Yost's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 15:05
Aaron Mxy Yost
Can you say, "pass the buck?"
MasterMS's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/19/2007 17:02
MasterMS
Very true though its not just one thing. In the end its up to the individual to take care of themselves. Americans just don't want that responsibility so they blame all these companies.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/20/2007 00:12
Bob Muir
Hm, I wonder why they have to go outside to burn off calories, eh drink companies?
Fading Star's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/20/2007 17:49
Fading Star
Wow, that really sucks.
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