Obesity Policy Coalition

Two-thirds of Americans are overweight. This fact is known that we need to do something about our health and obesity rate. An option that has been brought up time and time again is the Fat Tax. This would be a small tax applied to fatty and unhealthy food. Ideally, this tax would decrease consumption of things like fast food. Despite the well intentioned idea, things like this don’t always work. The Fat Tax would cause impoverish people to fall deeper into financial trouble and cost the government more on welfare as well as well as barely decreasing the actual obesity rate.

According to Hellen Evans, the author of Healthier food in shopping centers could change bad habits’; when asked If the government should impose a fat tax, she said yes, but she also stated “that the a fat tax on its own is too simplistic and we should focus on understanding and changing people’s behavior.” (Evans, 2012). Meaning, you cannot just put a tax on food and expect people not to eat it. The pollution has to want to be healthy, but giving them an incentive to do so by making the healthy option more accessible will help form healthy habits. According to the opposition the fat tax could be an

The fat tax in America, an attempt to improve the obesity epidemic using the legislature. The fat tax will not cure obesity in America. One idea is it will be used as an incentive to help improve the eating habits of Americans. The revenue collected can be used to enhance education as well as implement programs to teach healthy life style tips such as exersice and even implamenting gyms in placeces like community centers, another suggestion is to reduce cost of healthy foods using some of the tax money. As a result of the healthier habits of the population Medicare and Medicade may be less stressed resulting in less expenses, this could lead to less government debt as well as a healthier population. The percentage of obece adultes dobled in the last therthy years and obisty in children tripeled the cost of obesty anuly is 100 bilion dolers According to Hellen Evans the author of Healthier food in shopping centers could change bad habits; when asked if the government should impose a fat tax she said yes, but she also stated “that the a fat tax on its own is too simplistic and we should focus on understanding and chancing people’s behavior.” (Evans, 2012). Meaning you can not just put a tax on food and expect people not to eat it the poulatoin has to want to be helthy but giving them a insentive to do so by making the helthy option more acsesable will help form helthy habits.

The issue of obesity has become prevalent in UK politics with unsettling statistics revealing that UK obesity levels have trebled over the past thirty years. With a quarter of British adults now being classed as obese, it is clear that more action must be undertaken by the UK government in order to reduce levels of obesity. The increasing obesity levels are particularly concerning in regards to the younger generation, with statistics showing that more than a third of UK children are overweight or obese. If this worrying trend continues it is likely to lead to a generation of adults more dependent on the National Health Service (NHS) than ever before, with obesity being a factor closely linked with many serious health issues.

Medical research has shown that in recent years the amount of peopoe suffering from diseases such as obesity has increased rapidly. This is a cause for concern as obesity can result in several health complications which place patients who suffer from obesity at a higher risk of death. In order to combat this rise in obesity many have suggested that the government implement a tax on fatty foods. They feel as though taxing fatty foods would help reduce the obesity in a country. Others disagree and feel as though placing a tax on fatty foods could only have regressive consequences. Personally, I do not think a tax on foods containing fat should be implemented and I hope to convince the reader of my opinion by weighing the costs and the benefits

The fat tax has some good intentions and will possibly result in more people eating healthy. The unhealthy foods we eat can cause dangerous conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, cancer, and many more (“What Can Obesity Lead To”). A fat tax can alter people’s eating habits and prevent them from getting these diseases and improve the amount of healthy individuals in the country. Obesity is mainly caused by unhealthy foods, this tax is a way to limit people’s consumption of foods with high sodium and sugar. A fat tax could improve your health and expand your life expectancy all while helping the government save billions of dollars (“Sugar, Salts, And Fat Taxes Could Save Health Budget $3.4 Billion And Increase Life Expectancy”). A healthy nation with a government whose financial state is rising.

People now days have the risk of getting obese ever since the epidemic of fast food restaurants has diffused across the U.S., “over a third of U.S. adults are obese” (Finkelstein) and “About a third of U.S kids are overweight and obese” (Cunningham). The foods that they serve at fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Sonic, and many others are addicting, and easily accessible due to their low prices, which by many Americans would tend to buy fast food from those fast food restaurants. There must be an end to this obesity issue in hopes of preventing any future fatalities due to improper and unhealthy eating; thus a "fat tax" should be required on fast food establishments across the U.S. Since most Americans tend to eat more

Although, fat tax could have its cons it would really help the obesity rate in America. What is obesity? Obesity is illness when one suffers from having excess body fat from genetics or bad dieting. (Obesity action). Many health conditions play a huge factor in obesity such as, heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. There is many things that causes one to be obese. Perhaps the environment one keeps themselves in! If they are used to a fast paced lifestyle, always on the go then they are prone to eat unhealthy because they won’t have time to cook. Let alone getting any exercise, because no one walks to places anymore we drive and that allows us easier access to fast food. Also if they live in a poor and depressive

Within the past 50 years, obesity rates have reached an epidemic level with the United States of America having one of the highest obesity rates in the world. America has become the poster child for obesity worldwide and that has become its most noticeable feature. Several presidents have tried implementing multiple short term solutions in recent years, but none have shown overall effectiveness in reducing the main cause of obesity: the over consumption of unhealthy and overly processed foods. The introduction of a sin tax on junk foods, often called the fat tax, has been suggested to both houses of Congress various times, increasingly so in the past few years. But with constant food industry lobbying, the tax has been rejected every time for superficial reasons and a drive for monetary gains instead of the health of their consumers. The consumers need results and efficient ones at that and that is where the fat tax becomes a viable option. The implementation of a fat tax, or a tax on unhealthy or processed foods, will minimize the obesity crisis, encourage consumers to purchase healthier food options, and reduce the overall sugar and fat intake.

This essay aims to discuss health issues related to obesity including causes, prevention and dietary aspects as well as underpinning principles and policies related to obesity. WHO (2011) defines health policy as the mandated aspect that must be standardizing to meet vital tasks of the health care as well as the society. Ham (2006) defines health policy as a product of interaction between different interests articulated by pressure groups, organizations and social movements. Buse, Mays and Walt (2012) defines policy as a broad statement of goals that create the framework for activities and ideas in the form of written document or unwritten. Policy implementation monitors, controls and review issues or demands that are addressed as policy

“Approximately two-thirds of the Australian adult population is overweight or obese according to the most recent Australian Health Survey.” “This proportion continues to increase, with massive implications for the burden of chronic disease on individuals and the economy.”

“Obesity in the U.S. is now at epidemic proportions. As Americans have increased their girth, rates of obesity-related illness such as heart disease and diabetes have also skyrocketed. Children and teenagers are joining the ranks of the overweight and obese in greater numbers too. And they are at much higher risk than ever before for obesity-related diseases” (O’Brien 9). America is being attacked by fast food and sugary foods and to control this problem the government wants to regulate our wallets. A fat tax is a tax applied to unhealthy foods, such as candy, fast food, or soda, to discourage consumers from ingesting foods that are not good for their health. The problem with obesity is that unhealthy food is much less expensive than healthy food. Some individual’s might argue that everyone is responsible for what they consume and not the products. To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on unhealthy foods because the percentage of obese people in the U.S. has been increasing at an alarming rate, children are at risk of obesity and obesity is affecting the low-income population.

Despite being a large global epidemic, Obesity remains to be one of the most challenging and neglected health issues within society (Glenny et al. 1997). In 2008 the Australian Government spent $58 billion on direct healthcare and obesity related management, and this value continues to rise exponentially(Agency 2014). This profound impact on population health has made it a rising concern within the public health sector. With trends predicting that by 2025 80% of all Australians will suffer from obesity, leaving future generations to experience shorter life expectancies when they reach twenty years of age(University 2013).

The implementation of a “Fat Tax” is a topic that has been considered before in the UK. This is an additional tax on junk food, seeking to reduce the consumption of products containing high levels of fats, sugars and cholesterol. One of the primary considerations for such a tax is the scale of the obesity problem in the UK. Today’s obesity level in the UK is three times the 1980s level, currently 24.9% and is the highest in Europe (Nhs.uk 2015). The extent of the UK confectionery market size, which is expected to grow to £6.64 billion (bn) by 2019 (www.foodmanufacture.co.uk 2015) is a major contributing factor to the obesity rate and can be considered a market failure due to the associated negative externalities and its nature as a demerit good. Consequently, this causes market failure as it is over provided and readily available, creating deadweight welfare loss (DWL) . This essay endeavours to investigate the welfare and efficiency implications of the, colloquially known, ‘fat tax’ on junk foods and sugary drinks. Such a tax will, evidently, have an affect on both the consumers and producers. Through economic analysis, this essay will discuss who faces the greatest tax incidence.

Additionally, studies have found a correlation between high fruit and vegetable costs and childhood obesity in low and middle-income households (5). It is thought that households may compensate for the increase in price by buying less fresh produce and substituting it with cheaper (and most likely unhealthy) products (5). Furthermore, obesity is an enormous economic burden with the total annual cost in 2009 being a massive $56.6 billion (6), with more and more Australians becoming obese this figure will increase in the years to come. It is clear that changing the current policy will increase the financial burden which will cost the government billions of dollars, whereas, if the Government maintains the policy of no GST on fresh fruit and vegetable it will continue to save the economy millions of dollars and can help combat the relentless issue obesity poses on society.