Big Soda's splashy announcement of a plan to cut the number of calories that its customers drink by 20 percent by 2025 is nothing more than a PR move, says highly respected nutritionist Marion Nestle.

abaThe Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which was founded by the American Heart Assn., Clinton Foundation and the American Beverage Assoc., group bankrolled by Coke and Pepsi, ran a full page ad in the Sept. 24 New York Times to herald the move.

The Alliance provided a priceless third-party endorsement of the calorie cut target, praising it as "a tremendous undertaking by the industry, one that should be applauded, and also one that will not come easily."

It says the industry "will leverage every ounce of their national and local influence, product innovation and marketing muscle to reach this ambitious and necessary goal."

The soda companies really don't have to sweat it out.

Nestle, who is Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at NYU, throws cold water on the hoopla, noting that soda consumption is dropping like a rock.

All the soda companies have to do is to wait for consumption trends to achieve their calorie goal, wrote Nestle on her Food Politics blog.

If they were serious about combatting obesity, they would support tax initiatives and warning labels on sugary drinks.

They fight tax initiatives and warning labels tooth and nail.