Have you ever thought that “ whow, chips are very cheap, lets get 3 bags”. Well that might change soon by store managers putting a tax on unhealthy food. I believe that unhealthy foods should not be taxed more than healthy food. Even if you do tax foods, people have to do other things to lose weight. Also, which foods will you tax. Were will you draw the line? One other thing, people will still buy unhealthy foods, even if you put a tax on them. Foods should not be taxed because “Many people believe that other factors contribute to the health of an individual which means that being obese is not necessarily the only factor to consider.” Most of the time if you are trying to loss weight or don’t want to gain it you have to exercise, drink water and eat healthier. Well so does Everyday Health. They said “So walk a little more, eat a little less — and do what you need to do to maintain your health.” This is necessary to mention because it shows that you can’t “Blame” the unhealthy foods. It isn’t just their fault that people are obese. You have to take into consideration not just one thing but everything. Are you walking enough, drinking water, and …show more content…
Where will you draw the line. You could tax foods on chips and chocolate, but what about milk and cheese. They have fats even though they are good for you. Someone said “Arguably the most controversial aspect is which foods will be taxed. For example, many cheeses are high in fat, yet such foods are not usually considered as “junk food” despite their effects on obesity. Plus, consuming too many foods no matter how healthy, they will contribute to the obesity rate. So, there would be controversy over the application of the tax.” I agree with him because he is saying even eating a lot of oranges will higher your obesity rate even a little. Moreover, this all goes back to, even if you tax junk foods, there are other factors to
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans over eat because their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation and putting a stop on it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised more to help prevent American obesity.
While nobody denies we have a problem with taxation in this country for food, beverages, and everything that we buy in general, I believe that we should have a fat tax to detour people from buying soda and other fattening foods. We should also ban sodas and other fattening foods from vending machines in schools, and replace them with more healthy selections.
Drenkard, S. (2010). Overreaching on Obesity: Governments Consider New Taxes on Soda and Candy. Retrieved from http://heartland.org
Stores are unable to sell items that have past their best before date due to regulations and consumer belief that the food has expired, when it is generally still safe to eat but has just passed its peak quality. (USDA, 2013) Food is also wasted once it has been purchased. 32% of all food purchased per year in UK households is not eaten and ends up in a landfill – a huge amount of wastage. Over three million people die of obesity related causes each year. There is a growing number of people becoming obese, in America, 34.9% of people are obese. This is up from 27.9% in 2013. (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014) Obesity contributes to a lack of food security due to the amount of food obese people consume. Eliminating obesity could result in 6% more food available. (Lipinski et al., 2013) The problem is however that food insecurity can also cause obesity. Where fast food options are more accessible and the cost of healthy alternatives is too high, people opt for the easier and cheaper option. This leads to obesity and nutrient deficiencies also may be evident. (Unit, 2014) Therefore changing people’s attitude towards food in the western world is critical, this could be most easily achieved by education. In countries such as New Zealand where every product had a good and services tax, it could be beneficial to remove the tax off unprocessed food, lowering its price and therefore encouraging people to choose a healthier option of
Obesity is clinically defined as a body mass index (BMI) of above 30kg/m2 and is the accumulation of excess adipose tissue1. It is currently viewed as an epidemic due to the increasingly large proportion of adults who are now obese, with the incidence rapidly rising in the recent years. In a five year period from 1995-2000 there was a predicted increase of 100 million obese individuals world-wide 2. In UK it is estimated that over 25% of adult males and females are obese and it is thought that these figures will continually rise with estimations that 60% of adult men and 50% of adult woman with be obese by 2025.3 Being a huge burden on the NHS, it has been predicted that £5 billion a year is spent on preventing and treating the complications of excessive weight in the UK, which is almost 5% of the total NHS budget (£5billion/£108billion).4 The cost of obesity on the NHS will rise to correlate with the increasing incidence illustrated.
One of the big controversies in this argument is who decides what foods are considered healthy and which foods will fall under the tax. Does this responsibility go to the legislators, to the nutritionist experts, or does it go to the people who are consuming these foods? The legislators create these bills to be implemented, but do they have the knowledge to know what nutrients the body needs on a daily or weekly basis? How much fat needs to be in a food for it to be put under the fat tax?
...e surface appears to be a good idea however some individuals may argue that this would interfere with individual liberties. The best approach to find out if providing incentives works or if excise taxes works to decrease obesity is to use the cost-effectiveness analysis tool. Researchers will be able to pinpoint which policies are working and which ones are failing because cost-effectiveness is associated with cost-benefit analysis. This means if the benefits outweigh the costs, then policymakers should implement the policy with the most benefit. I believe the optimum approach to addressing the obesity epidemic is to have government incentivize individuals for maintaining a healthy Body Mass Index and to expand evidence-base school interventions. More effort should be focused on education because behaviors are learned not only in the home but also in the classroom.
It is sad. People from all races and backgrounds are obese. In a recent survey done at Henry Ford College, 43 percent of students were overweight. Whether it is because they do not follow a healthy diet or they inherited it from their parents. Being overweight is correlated with lacking exercise or physical activity and not watching what is on the plate. Obesity can cause many illnesses, including diabetes, which is very common. As the debate whether soda tax should take effect arises, critics say that the tax will help those with obesity-related illnesses. What about exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle? These two factors cannot be forgotten knowing they are the most important. Americans have consumed 12 percent of soda and become less active since 1970. A soda tax aims to stop consumers from buying soda to help those who are obese. This will not be effective. Therefore a soda tax will not be good public policy.
For each generation that grows up in America, there is always one thing that they all share, taxes. Individuals pay taxes on almost everything these days. Taxes are charged on purchases of food, goods, and even services. Taxes are also taken out of payroll checks each pay period and deposited into government accounts for use later. And lastly, at the beginning of the year when income tax is due, if an individual has done what is necessary, they will end up with a refund. If not, they can end up with a high tax repayment bill that leaves them wondering what went wrong. What if, however, there was a way to change the Nation’s taxation system? Would it be worth it to an individual to pay more for items instead of paying taxes at the end of the
By adding a tax, people will stop buying unhealthy foods daily. Being able to decrease the number of unhealthy food people eat, will better our overall health, and will decline our obesity rates. A study done "as of 2003, US states without sales taxes on soft drinks or snack foods were 4 times as likely as states with a tax to have a relative increase in the prevalence of obesity" (Franck, Grandi, & Eisenberg, 2003). This is a good example of how taxing junk food will help the populations problem with obesity. With easier access to junk food, people are more likely to buy it because it is a cheap substitute for the pricey healthy
The obesity in the UK is the highest in Europe and according to dozens of researchers the rate would possibly increase sharply in the next few years. Obesity is due to an unhealthy lifestyle, too much junk food and lack of activity. Poor health leads to many diseases such as high blood pressure heart disease, cancer, etc. Obesity impacts people’s living standard and also effects wider society. With the aim of preventing the rise of obesity, governments have taken action by introducing a new fat tax, a tax which is focused on high sugar content food. In this essay I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of fat tax, and conclude with my opinion.
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
It’s easy to assume that poor countries usually have the most unhealthy diets. Well, that’s a misdirected assumption. High blood pressure, high blood glucose, overweight and obesity, and high cholesterol are one of the 4 of the top ten risk factors that cause death. High blood pressure is the number one cause of death around the world and heart disease is the number one cause of death globally. All of them are caused by unhealthy eating. People tend to eat less fruits and vegetables which increase the risk of diseases and health problems, causing 1.7 million deaths a year.("Global Dietary Changes Threaten Health") America, one of the richer countries, has the worst eating diets. Nearly 2 out of 5 people in America are suffering from obesity.(Richardson) In a year, each person eats approximately 1.996 pounds. That’s a lot of food.
In the period of Obamacare, there is a sound argument that there is a need for greater restrictions on who has access to healthcare on the normal premium’s minimum premium model or through Medicare/Medicaid. The question that has to be asked is if those individuals, which assume a risk through an unhealthy lifestyle, should pay the same premiums as those individuals who live a healthy lifestyle. There is obviously a discussion of degrees in such a debate (i.e. the individual who eats unhealthily in a manner that has limited health impacts is different from the smoker or the obese person). Eating and obesity are a contentious subject when it comes to health care restrictions, because food is a necessity. However, tobacco is not a necessity and is known to be a significant detriment to the individual’s health. Inferentially, the case supporting a health tax for cigarettes, smoking and tobacco is different the debate over the tax for unhealthy eating and obesity. Thus, there should be a health tax in the case of tobacco consumption is necessary, because the individual who smokes is assuming risks that are detrimental to his or her health.
Junk food is a favorite in this society. Fast food restaurants make it easier to grab food on the go. The greasier or sweeter food is the better. But junk food and sugary has caused many health problems. If there was a junk food tax, the government was target foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, foods that the main source is salt, energy drinks, caffeinated beverages and foods, and soft drinks with high sugar content.(Todorova, Elena 1.1-1.4) I believe adding taxes to junk food could help the decrease many health problem, but I will do more research before I make a decision.