The so called
“Fat Tax”
has received more press coverage this week as a report has been published indicating that a tax on unhealthy foods would benefit both the UK Taxpayer and those of us who are overweight.
One thing that is certain is that the UK has an obesity problem with nearly 70% of all men in the UK classified as overweight. This is certainly one statistic that the UK cannot be proud of as it tops the European League for most overweight individuals.
The NHS spends vast sums of money treating the effects of obesity in our society each year. Whether it be from prescribing diet pills such as Orlistat or through G.P’s time treating the effects of obesity such as diabetes.
READ A REVIEW OF THE BEST DIET PILLS HERE
In these times of budget cuts and austerity measures, one thing is for certain that the UK Taxpayer cannot continue to fund the results of our over indulgence.
Most studies agree that an increased tax on certain unhealthy foods would discourage people to buy them. Conversely, healthy foods such as fruit could be subsidised to encourage people to buy them.
Of course the major food manufacturers have too much at stake to let this proposed tax become law. Furthermore, they would argue that the tax generated by them in terms of corporation tax and employee contributions more than outweighs the tax burden on society.
As an aside, one scary thought is that the ingredients in many fast foods are formulated by scientists not nutritionists. The food is designed to keep you coming back for more so that guess what, you keep spending the pounds rather than lose them!
Of course there will also be those that will argue that individuals should be free to choose whether they take diet pills or eat fatty foods. The current government may be less inclined to interfere than the previous one but nonetheless will be keen to take some action.
The ban on smoking was a similar issue a few years ago and eventually became law, perhaps that is the strongest indicator that one day we will have to pay more for foods that make us put on weight.
The UK is not alone in facing this problem and considering how best to solve it, this is includes our European counterparts and the USA. One novel idea developed in Germany was to have a weigh in at school each morning aka weightwatchers. You can imagine the uproar that would cause in the UK and is it really the best idea to single out fat children in front of their classmates? I think not.
So, would a tax on unhealthy food or individuals actually make a difference? Probably, but the obesity issue in the UK is something that has become inherent in UK society. Bad eating habits are ingrained in the UK from a young age, how often do restaurants only provide chicken nuggets and chips for the kids rather than encourage them to eat more healthily.
Compare this with Mediterranean countries which have lower rates of obesity and where children are encouraged to eat at proper restaurants eating the same food as their parents, albeit in smaller portions. Maybe the UK could learn a great deal about the way our Mediterranean counterparts eat as part of solving our national obesity crisis.
Perhaps our culture of wanting it NOW has also led to health issues, the massive rise in popularity of diet pills illustrates that people want to lose weight fast and see diet pills as an effective way to achieve this.
Constructing an obesity tax will be a difficult ask but as problems related to obesity grow maybe not this government but certainly the next one will need to take action.
