Money quote:

“Anne Milton, the [UK] minister for public health, tells me that legislation against the food industry isn’t being ruled out, because of the escalating costs to the NHS. Previous governments have always taken the route of partnership. Why? Because the food industry provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in revenue. It is immensely powerful, and any politician who takes it on does so at their peril. “Let’s get one thing straight,” Milton tells me, however. “I am not scared of the food industry.”

And I believe her, because now, there is something far bigger to be frightened of. Eventually, the point will be reached when the cost to the NHS of obesity, which is now £5bn a year, outweighs the revenue from the UK snacks and confectionery market, which is currently approximately £8bn a year. Then the solution to obesity will become very simple.”

In the US, I’m not aware of a solid, comprehensive summary of the total costs of obesity (lost productivity, higher insurance premiums, enormous profits for diabetes meds, etc, etc).
Where is our Anne Milton?
She seems to be making a simple, clear argument in favor of public health.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

This link provides further links to a shorter, more recent talk.

First, many tropical areas, such as Polynesia, were settled by humans at most 50,000 years ago, which is still relatively recent in evolutionary terms. Homo sapiens and its forerunners had been evolving in and around Africa for millions of years.

Second, the sweetness of the fruits may be a recent phenomenon as well, as farmers with sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) learned to cultivate sweeter and sweeter fruit.

I highly recommend you spend a couple of hours watching “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” It’s a documentary and it is available on Netflix.

That being said, I would prefer a ban on beverages over a certain number of calories, and not based on the size. When I’m walking around the city on a hot summer day, 16 ounces of liquid just doesn’t cut it.