Editor’s Note: Every week, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s battle against obesity received a boost last week when the Board of Health, as expected, approved a proposal that limits the size of sugary drinks sold at any food service establishments regulated by the board.

While the size limits were hailed by city officials and health experts as a step toward curbing obesity, which is a huge problem in the Bronx, beverage industry advocates say the new regulations will negatively impact businesses in a sluggish economy.

Bloomberg said the ban has national implications.

“This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Simply by proposing limits on sugary drinks, New York City pushed the issue of obesity – and the impact of sugary beverages – onto the national stage. The Board of Health’s passing this proposal means that New Yorkers will soon consume fewer junk calories and eventually begin turning the tide of the obesity epidemic that is destroying the health of far too many of our citizens

The new rules means sugary drinks — beverages that contain more than 25 calories per eight ounces — can not be sold in sizes of more than 16 ounces at restaurants, mobile food carts, delis and concessions at movie theaters, stadiums and arenas.

The policy will not be in place until March of next year, but Barclay’s Center, the new Brooklyn home of the Nets professional basketball team, agreed to adopt the new limits immediately.

Beverage advocates who launched an all-out campaign to defeat the policy, however, said the ban was discriminatory and would hurt small businesses.

“The fix was in from the beginning, and the Mayor’s handpicked board followed their orders by passing this discriminatory ban; but it has not passed with the support of New Yorkers,” said Liz Berman, a business owner and chairwoman of New Yorkers for Beverage Choices. “It’s sad that the board wants to limit our choices. We are smart enough to make our own decisions about what to eat and drink.”

In June, Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference in the Bronx at Montefiore Medical Center to announce the policy. Last week, Dr. Steven Safyer, President and CEO of Montefiore, praised the board’s decision to implement the size limits.

“For the past several years, I’ve seen the number of children and adults struggling with obesity skyrocket, putting them at early risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer,” he said in a statement. “Sugary beverages play a major role in this cycle, and are so heavily marketed to children, they jeopardize the next generation of New Yorkers. This policy is a great step in the battle to turn this health crisis around.”