New Yorkers can be pretty hardened, but some of the latest ads to come out of Mayor Bloomberg's no-holds-barred anti-obesity campaign are leaving some people in shock.

Specifically addressing the extreme augmentation of portion sizes, the New York Department of Health is swapping their gross-out fat soda ads for even more distressing depictions of obese individuals afflicted by limited mobility.

In the ad to the left, an obese, one-legged man is a startling warning of the repercussions of obesity – specifically, amputation due to diabetes. Another ad shows an obese woman struggling up steep stairs. Both contain warnings about the dangers of growing portions.

Despite the laudable intent to discourage becoming obese, these grim subway posters are being rebuked as scare tactics instead of credible risk reminders.

You’ve heard all the excuses before: from “I’m too busy to cook at home,” to “I end up overeating when I cook for myself,” there’s always a justification for what keeps people from taking control in their own kitchen.

These are exactly the challenges that Integrative Nutrition graduates Quinn Asteak, class of 2010, and Robyn Youkilis, class of 2009, set out to tackle. Both have thriving health coaching practices in New York City and share a passion for whipping up healthy, delicious meals. After meeting at the Fall IINto Action Conference last September, the two got to chatting and decided to team up and create a program to teach people how cooking can make all the difference. Thus was born {Healthy} Cooking Camp, an online, interactive 4-week workshop designed to take the totally confused to total connoisseur in the kitchen.

I recently caught up with the pair to learn more and get the scoop on their exciting new project. Quinn and Robyn are fun, energetic and enthusiastic - check out a preview from the series below! With such a zest for healthy cooking, it’s no surprise that they’ve got big plans for the future.

{Healthy} Cooking Camp launches Wednesday, January 25, 2012. For more information and to register, visit the website.

Special bonus: Members of the IIN community can receive $50 off the regular cost of $199 by entering the code “primaryfood” when registering!

Make New York healthier. This is one of the top priorities on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s agenda. So far, he has banned smoking in public places, required calorie counts on menus at fast food restaurants, and removed trans fats from foods served there. His most recent initiative calls for a ban on using food stamps to purchase soda in an effort to curb the obesity problem that plagues the city and the nation.

The Mayor and his administration think that if people aren't allowed to purchase the sugar-laden drinks with government provided food stamps, they will be forced to make healthier choices. The USDA thinks the plan is too complex to implement. They ask, how do you define which drinks are allowed and which are not? They also think it would be too difficult to gauge how effective the initiative would be in combating the nation's number one health crisis.