A new city proposal to ban the use of food stamps to buy soda and other sugar-heavy drinks has sparked a fervent debate among health advocates.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture remove soda from the list of allowable purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp program, for two years in New York City.

The effort, Bloomberg said, is part of an overall attempt to improve the health of New Yorkers, citing sugar-sweetened drinks as the “largest single contributor to the obesity epidemic,” according to a press release.

“Citywide, there is a significant increase in obesity and Type-2 diabetes, and a tremendous portion of that burden is on low-income people,” said Kathy Nonas of the Department of Health. The proposal, she said, is one of the city’s many efforts to “increase the access to healthy food and decrease the access to unhealthy food.”

The Bronx has the highest obesity and diabetes rates in the entire city. Nutritionists agree that soda is a particularly dangerous culprit when it comes to weight gain.

“We want to ensure that when people purchase food, they’re purchasing food that’s nutritional. Soda — there’s nothing real about it. It’s a man-made food that contributes nothing but calories,” said Miriam Pappo, the director of clinical nutrition at Montefiore Medical Center. “It’s always advocated to eat your calories rather than drink them.”

A 32-oz. bottle of regular soda, she said, has nearly 400 calories. It’s recommended that people consume no more than 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight.

“Some kids are getting all the calories they need a day just from soda,” said Dr. Peggy Shafaghi, a pediatrician at St. Barnabas Hospital.

But some food and hunger advocates say that targeting food stamp recipients sends a negative message, and confirms stereotypes already associated with the program.

“I’d be the first to say that soda is not a great thing for people, and we should definitely tell people to drink less soda,” said Joel Berg, executive director at the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. But he disputes the claim that soda is the number one cause of obesity, and says making bans like this will discourage people who need the help from enrolling in the food stamp program. 

“There’s no evidence at all that people in the food stamps program eat any less wise than other poor people,” Berg said. “[The ban] sells the message to low-income people: ‘we’re making your choices for you.’”

Berg says there are more effective ways to help people eat more nutritionally than just restricting what they can buy. In areas like the Bronx, he said, the city should work to increase the number of places food stamps are accepted, bring healthier foods into markets and neighborhood bodegas, lend support to farmers markets and community supported agriculture projects, and make those projects accept SNAP payments.

“The problem isn’t bad choices,” Berg said. “The problem is they don’t have the money to make good choices.”