The Obesity Epidemic in the United States

In the United States, a crisis is breaking out known as the Obesity epidemic. For the first time in history, it is possible for the children of this generation to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Millions of Americans are exposed to ads that are luring them into eating the cheap, fast food of billion dollar companies such as McDonald’s. Obesity has established itself as the fastest growing disease in the nation and continues to make an impact on the general population. The issue of Obesity is directly related to todays technology through television, cell phones, video games and all of sorts of new gadgets.

Eating unhealthy foods is one of the major causes of obesity today; but should there be a higher tax on all soft drinks and junk food? Should people be punished for eating what they want? Yes, there are health risks involved with an unhealthy diet but is a higher taxing on these foods the right alternative? With the price of healthcare raising maybe the extra tax could help alleviate it, maybe not. Perhaps the higher tax will turn people away from buying unhealthy foods and drinks. Consuming unwholesome food can lead to clogged arteries, heart attacks and many other fatal illnesses. Buying the healthier substitute may help our

With a growing epidemic of obesity in America, some states and lawmakers have resorted to taking unconventional measures in order to counter the growing issue. Many legislators are debating the effectiveness of a “fat tax” would be on limiting the consumption of soda, high fat foods, and high sugar foods, and ultimately reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality due to obesity. The idea is that long term consumption of high fat, high sugar foods and drinks lead to many health problems, so making them more expensive and less accessible should decrease the health issues related to their consumption.

A fat tax would plague producers and outlets. Such was the case with the world’s first fat tax introduced in Denmark. This tax on foods high in saturated fat was dismissed after less than a year and left many consequences in its wake. It has been guilty of “increasing prices for consumers, increasing companies' administrative costs and putting Danish jobs at risk," as stated by the Danish tax ministry. As a result, the planned sugar tax has also been abandoned. As well, the tax was a costly procedure and failed to change the eating habits of people in general. A fat tax on fast food would have the same limitations and ultimately lead to failure.

In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Heart disease is the number one cause of death and cancer is the second, both causes of death are the effects of consuming junk food. Junk food is fast food, snacks, and sugary drinks that have little to no healthy nutrients, such as McDonald's burgers, Pepsi, and Twinkies. Since junk food is mainly sugar and fat, fat tends to accumulate and therefore can create health issues such as diabetes. Due to Junk food, the main source of obesity and other health risks, junk food taxes have been implemented to influence people to change to a healthier lifestyle. Junk food taxes should be increased to increase awareness of the health problems.

A problem with junk food in America is obesity. According to the LA County Department of Public Health, 42% of children are obese or overweight. States should have an extra tax on junk food or other unhealthy foods. Raising the tax could decrease the percentage of obesity by making Americans pay more money. Another reason why is that junk food is very unhealthy. Finally, taxing the products could increase the amount of money the government gets for taxes.

The fat tax as a surcharge is placed on unhealthy foods and drink in trying to overcome increasing obesity rates.For the population of overweight people has expanded rapidly and the increase of the health implications in recent decades, obesity has become a growing global health issue.According to the World Health Organization (WHO) provides the facts on obesity , including that in the year 2005 about 1.6 billion adults were overweight and the amount obese children who were under five years old was at least 2 billion in the world.The consequences of obesity also shown by the WHO, which mainly about the health impacts such as contributing to the risk of the coronary heart disease and musculoskeletal disorders.(Shah,2010) To alleviate this problem , an increasing number

Economic costs of obesity are increasing and will continue to do so if nothing is done. Healthy Communities for A Healthy Future state that the estimated annual health care costs related to obesity are 190 billion dollars. This is 21% of total health care costs. This includes direct costs, such as preventive and treatment services, while indirect costs include income lost to days debilitated or future income lost to death. On an individual level, an obese person will cost 42% more in health care than a person of healthy weight. A tax directly related to products known to cause obesity would offset the cost of health care, and hopefully result in less obesity in the Nation.

Aside from government interference, congress would also have to deal with the task of identifying which food items are “junk”. How will junk food be defined? Should nuts be taxed since they are high in trans-fat? Should tinned fish, white rice, and frozen peas be taxed since they are processed foods (Wilden 2012)? If a “Fat Tax” is to be implemented, it would not only be meant for food, but for people as well. “Any person with a BMI (body mass index) of 35 or above is classified as morbidly obese and could be subject to a fat tax” (Riddix). For example, Alabama has imposed a “Fat Tax” on people who have a BMI of 35 or greater. People who have a BMI of 35 or greater have to pay $25 more per month on their insurance (Riddix). Other countries that have already adopted this “Fat Tax” are even charging obese people extra for seats on airplanes and also for dying. “Air France is charging a fat tax on obese customers that fly its airline. Obese individuals will have to pay for 1 seat and 75% of the cost for a 2nd seat… In the UK, obese people are being charged a fat tax after they die! Families are paying surcharges for coffins and cremation

The idea of implementing Fat Tax on junk food in the U.S. has been in the works for quite some time. California is first in the nation to implement the “fat tax”. This tax will be applied to any items containing more than 2.3% saturated fat, including, dairy products such as cheese and milk, processed foods, pizza, soda, and candy. The purpose of such a tax is to deter consumers from purchasing these unhealthy foods and lower the obesity rate. According to Ogden, Carroll, Kit and Flegal (2014), “prevalence of obesity in the United States is high, with one-third of adults and 17% of children obese” (“Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in the United States”, 2014).The number of obese children is alarming, albeit, significant measures have been taken in schools to provide healthier meals. Unfortunately, there is little guidance when it comes to food choices at home. Fat tax on junk food will provide consumers with the guidance and encouragement needed to make healthier food choices.

In today 's world, obesity has reached epidemic proportions – so much it has become a global epidemic. Coined 'globesity ' by the World Health Organization, obesity has more than doubled since the 1980s, and today more than 1.5 billion adults are considered overweight (1). Junk food comprises nearly one-third of the Standard American Diet while fresh fruits and vegetables make up only a mere 10 percent (2). In his news article 'Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables ', New York Times columnist Mark Bittman proposes taxing junk foods to combat the obesity epidemic. He says that by doing so will address and decrease the number of obesity-related diseases that Americans are faced with today and also tremendously reduce public health costs as well (3). Although a solution is in dire need, a junk food tax to address the obesity issue does not seem suitable or even practical because it infringes on people 's freedom of choice in terms of what to eat and not eat, raises controversy about what is considered healthy and not healthy and as a result of which food items get taxed, is hypocritical to an extent because the government will be adding to the false belief that eating junk food is the more affordable option.

Instituting a fat tax in the United States is important because worldwide obesity levels are rising. If obesity levels continue to rise as they are predicted to the future of humanity is at risk. The damage being overweight does to the human body is reason enough want to reverse the trends. There are so many opportunities in the world and everyone should have the opportunity to live up to their potential but by continuing these bad habits

Another reason why people are proposing to impose a tax on unhealthy foods is because they believe that obese Americans are clogging our health care system. It is true that overweight people do increase health care spending, although only in the short term. A study was done where they investigated the short and long term health care costs of standard-weight and overweight people. In this study they found that a lot of obese people would increase the amount of money spent on health care by society now. Nevertheless, overweight people would use less money on health care, altogether, than a healthy person because the overweight people have a decreased life expectancy (“Does

Some states are deciding to impose or have imposed taxes on junk food to regulate the amount of junk food individuals buy. Many individuals believe that junk food should be taxed at a high price and that healthy foods should be cheaper. The selections, “Evolution’s Sweet Tooth” by Daniel E. Lieberman and “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman, discuss the fact that many adults consume large amounts of unhealthy food products and that adults should eat more of healthy foods. The article, “Addiction to Unhealthy Foods Shouldn’t Require Government Regulation” by Jayson Lusk, discusses that many individuals have the right to eat anything they want and that it is more the individuals’ choice to eat right. Diseases such as Type II diabetes and heart disease can be associated to obesity and many individuals’ bad-eating habits. Many adults may continue to eat unhealthy but they shouldn 't allow their children to eat unhealthy as well. The government should put a tax on junk food in order to help persuade individuals to make healthier food choices; as a result, the percentage of individuals with obesity could lower.

In several countries including Australia, there is tax on foods containing fat that being called fat tax. The reasons for fat tax being introduced to those countries are to reduce the consumption on junk food, to encourage people to eat a healthy food instead. And to lower the obesity which mean it can increase public health.