“There is just no plausible set of assumptions under which they are likely to have any meaningful effect,” he said. “There are so many ways that people are likely to consume calories.”

Other bans seek to protect the environment and improve the quality of life for residents. Concord’s Town Meeting decided in April to ban the sale of plastic water bottles smaller than 1 liter. But the session also voted — barely — against a proposal banning free-roaming cats by requiring them to be secured by leashes.

A host of towns, including Arlington and Marblehead, have tried to sanction quiet by prohibiting the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers. And in a ban that made national news, voters in Middleborough decided last month to fine anyone who swears in public. Public swearing in town has been a (rarely enforced) criminal offense since 1968, and the new local law, if it passes legal muster, would turn the crime into a civil offense, making it easier for police to enforce.

The swearing law, like all new municipal laws, must be approved by the state attorney general’s office before it can take effect. Middleborough police officers would have discretion about whether to ticket cursing in public, said Sergeant Robert Ferreira.

“We’ll have to see how it unfolds,” Ferreira said. “I think it won’t be enforced very often.”

In Arlington, landscapers and others opposed to the leaf-blower ban passed in May have raised about $10,000 to reverse it. The group, which gathered enough signatures to hold a special election Thursday , has been posting “Reverse the Blower Ban” lawn signs.