A Fat Tax: Economic Costs of Obesity are High

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Today's world is full of modern conveniences. Communication is at the touch of a button, you can drive right to the window and get handed a greasy, hot meal, and even walking has become bothersome. Trying to find that spot closest to the door is worth driving around the lot five times. Kids play more in virtual reality than outdoors, and parents who are strapped for time settle on quick, processed meals for dinner. Unfortunately, we've created an environment fit for the lazy. Instead of having to preform physical activities to function throughout the day, we must find time for physical activity, which might not be realistic for everyone. The fast food industry and quick processed dinners feed the consumer with no time for exercise, and the problem evolves over time. Obesity has become such an issue for America that the government needs to take action. One of the ideas health advocates have presented is fat tax: a tax that would increase the cost of products that are not good for the consumer. The goal of taxing products that are high in unhealthy ingredients is to reduce the consumption of the product, and in turn help America to lose weight and cut down on the health care costs overweight and obese people create. A fat tax would address an important issue, that is the health of the people, but it doesn't really solve anything.
A fat tax is a pigovian regressive tax that would be applied to foods with high concentrations of ingredients that have been known to do more harm than good. A pigovian tax is a "sin tax" that addresses products that have negative results. Gasoline, cigarettes and alcohol all have a pigovian tax. A regressive tax will take higher percentages from those with low income, and are placed on things like food, c...

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...ng unhealthy products.

Works Cited

"Denmark's Failed Tax Experiment" The Lang & O'Leary Exchange. CBC. Feb 19, 2013. Telivision.

Finkelstein, E. A., J. G. Trogdon, J. W. Cohen, and W. Dietz. "Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer-And Service-Specific Estimates." Health Affairs 28.5 (2009): W822-831. Print.

Rao, M., A. Afshin, G. Singh, and D. Mozaffarian. "Do Healthier Foods and Diet Patterns Cost More than Less Healthy Options? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." BMJ Open 3.12 (2013): E004277. Print.

So, Kameron "Type 2 Diabetes Statistics and Facts" Medically Reviewed by George
Krucik, MD, MBA. Healthline.com Published on January 24, 2012. Web. Accessed Feb. 17, 2014

"Why Low-Income and Food Insecure People Are Vulnerable to Overweight and Obesity." FRAC.org. Food Research and Action Center, 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

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