Evaluate the view that the only way to reduce the UK’s growing obesity problem is to introduce a tax on fatty and sugary foods.

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Evaluate the view that the only way to reduce the UK’s growing obesity problem is to introduce a tax on fatty and sugary foods.

A tax is a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits, or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions. Obesity is the state of being grossly over weight. The obesity problem in the UK is becoming more and more of a problem in the UK. Estimates suggest that by 2050 more than half of the British population will be obese (many have said that this is an underestimation). This will have huge effects on the government. Obesity is already digging deep into the pockets of the NHS due to rises in the number of diabetes and heart attacks, so one can only imagine how bad it is going to be in 2050. Taxing fatty foods is not the only way to tackle this issue and it doesn’t seem to be the most efficient and effective path to take either. The other options are: compulsory exercise; increasing exercise; subsidies healthy foods; tax obese people directly or charging obese people NHS costs.

Indirect tax is a tax on spending on a specific consumer good. As we can see from the effect that indirect taxes has had on cigarettes and alcohol, people have had mixed views. This is because the amount of cigarettes and alcohol hasn’t increased as much in comparison to the money that the government makes. Critics of indirect taxes of inelastic goods say that the government is just making people spend a higher percentage of their income on goods. However, supporters of indirect taxes say that it is a good incentive for them to stop. (See graph on separate sheet). Because scientists say that eating fatty foods is a psychological problem rather than just...

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...ood would be as cheap as the cheap, fatty, sugary foods that obese people normally get. It is the most expensive option, but looking into the future it is the most long-term option. The last option is that the government doesn’t intervene at all. This however, is not a good idea because nothing would be preventing half of the UK being obese by 2050.

I think that a key thought in solving this is not to punish those who are not obese by taxing fatty and sugary foods. Therefore I think that one of the options that more specifically will help obese people become healthier is more appropriate. It is for the reason stated above that I believe that the best strategy to use in order to reduce the obesity expectations is subsidising healthy foods and gym memberships for people who are classified as obese. These two options together could reform the obesity levels in the UK.

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