Newark Mayor Cory Booker joins list of nanny politicos pushing weight loss

First, Michelle Obama launches a nationwide campaign to fire up youth to exercise and compel American adults to eat better. Then, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a crackdown on super-sized sodas, cigarettes and bottle-fed babies — going so far toward that latter as to ask hospitals to hide bottles from new mothers and instead pressure breast feeding. Now comes Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J.

The Democrat is copycatting Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign in his city, going so far as to partner with Weight Watchers to combat obesity among Newark residents, according to Politico.

The campaign will provide 3,100 Newark workers with discounted memberships for the Weight Watchers diet plan, Politico says. Why? The city has to set an example, Mr. Booker said, in the Politico report.

“Large cities like Newark and their leaders have an important role to play in turning back the rising tide of obesity in this country,” he said, in Politico. “We have an example to set — an example of a thriving community that promotes healthy lifestyles. As mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, I am very conscious of the need to control rising health care costs and to have a healthy, productive workforce.”

The Politico report didn’t cite the costs to taxpayers for the discounted Weight Watchers memberships.

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