~ARES
Smash Apprentice
The Premise:
Obesity is a quickly growing issue, and one that has been garnering more and more media attention as the years have passed. Declared as an official epidemic by the World Health Organization in 1997, the number and ratio of overweight individuals is rising rapidly worldwide--the developed world suffers the worst, but no region bar Sub-Saharan Africa is excluded by this relatively new problem (link: Global Prevalence of Adult Obesity. The cause of this rising trend and its correlation with the developed world is widely agreed upon to relate to the growing availability and cheap price of high-fat foods. Fast food, soft drinks, microwavable foods, etc have had a profound effect on the obesity problem.
Among many suggested solutions is the so-called "fat tax". This type of initiative aims to place a revenue tax on unhealthy foods and drinks as a deterrent to both the manufacture and purchase of such foodstuffs. The most recent lobbying in this direction took place in New York and Maine, where state governments proposed placing a tax on sugary drinks on a "penny-per-ounce" basis (link: ABC News. But this approach to tackling obesity is certainly not new, and not exclusive to the United States. Countries such as the UK in 2004 have previously advanced taxes on unhealthy foods in an effort to combat overweightness (link: BBC World News).
The Debate:
Support in both the "for" and "against" camps have been growing throughout the years. Advocates for a fat tax have a slew of reasons; Kelly Brownell of Yale University and Thomas Frieden, the health commissioner of the City of New York, estimate that the tax would reduce a person's annual energy intake by 8000 calories and their weight by over a kilogram (New Scientist Magazine, Apr 18-24). The British Medical Journal claims up to 1,000 premature deaths from heart disease could be prevented with the introduction of the 2004 UK fat tax. Governments have utilized taxes to discourage other private decisions, such as the use of alcohol and cigarettes, so such an idea does not seem too farfetched.
On the other hand, the fat tax has no short supply of opponents. Some say a fat tax would do little to the prices of, say, snack food manufacturers if said companies wished to remain competitive. Others suggest that low-income families, who often rely on cheap meals, will be the hardest hit, whilst obesity remains to be a bigger problem in the middle class. Finally, some even say that a fat tax is over-government involvement in personal lives and a possible invasion of privacy according to some staunch opponents, including dear old Rush Limbaugh.
So here, we have two opposing sides on a controversial issue; what does the SWF Proving Grounds think? What points, counter-points, pros and cons do you guys have on this issue? Do you personally support or oppose a taxing measure on fattening foods? Could this be an effective tool in combating obesity?
Obesity is a quickly growing issue, and one that has been garnering more and more media attention as the years have passed. Declared as an official epidemic by the World Health Organization in 1997, the number and ratio of overweight individuals is rising rapidly worldwide--the developed world suffers the worst, but no region bar Sub-Saharan Africa is excluded by this relatively new problem (link: Global Prevalence of Adult Obesity. The cause of this rising trend and its correlation with the developed world is widely agreed upon to relate to the growing availability and cheap price of high-fat foods. Fast food, soft drinks, microwavable foods, etc have had a profound effect on the obesity problem.
Among many suggested solutions is the so-called "fat tax". This type of initiative aims to place a revenue tax on unhealthy foods and drinks as a deterrent to both the manufacture and purchase of such foodstuffs. The most recent lobbying in this direction took place in New York and Maine, where state governments proposed placing a tax on sugary drinks on a "penny-per-ounce" basis (link: ABC News. But this approach to tackling obesity is certainly not new, and not exclusive to the United States. Countries such as the UK in 2004 have previously advanced taxes on unhealthy foods in an effort to combat overweightness (link: BBC World News).
The Debate:
Support in both the "for" and "against" camps have been growing throughout the years. Advocates for a fat tax have a slew of reasons; Kelly Brownell of Yale University and Thomas Frieden, the health commissioner of the City of New York, estimate that the tax would reduce a person's annual energy intake by 8000 calories and their weight by over a kilogram (New Scientist Magazine, Apr 18-24). The British Medical Journal claims up to 1,000 premature deaths from heart disease could be prevented with the introduction of the 2004 UK fat tax. Governments have utilized taxes to discourage other private decisions, such as the use of alcohol and cigarettes, so such an idea does not seem too farfetched.
On the other hand, the fat tax has no short supply of opponents. Some say a fat tax would do little to the prices of, say, snack food manufacturers if said companies wished to remain competitive. Others suggest that low-income families, who often rely on cheap meals, will be the hardest hit, whilst obesity remains to be a bigger problem in the middle class. Finally, some even say that a fat tax is over-government involvement in personal lives and a possible invasion of privacy according to some staunch opponents, including dear old Rush Limbaugh.
So here, we have two opposing sides on a controversial issue; what does the SWF Proving Grounds think? What points, counter-points, pros and cons do you guys have on this issue? Do you personally support or oppose a taxing measure on fattening foods? Could this be an effective tool in combating obesity?
