Taxing Fatty Foods

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Recommended: Effectiveness of healthcare system delivery

The United States is an exceedingly unhealthy nation. Its citizens are sufficiently educated to know that their eating habits could lower their life expectancy and decrease their overall quality of life. They may know this; however, the amount of food and the foods themselves that they choose to consume do not show proof of this knowledge. It seems as if many Americans are drowning themselves in fat as an escape from the burdens and stress that life brings. Taxing fatty foods in the current American culture of obesity can only offer hope to an already failing medical system and to young people who, because of obesity-related health concerns, have a shorter life expectancy than their own parents.

This country’s medical system is slowly deteriorating. Earlier this year, the United States was graded on its healthcare system. The results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, which is based on indicators of matters such as healthcare quality, access, and efficiency, show that the healthcare system was given a sixty-four out of one hundred in its scoring. Compared to previous years, the report found that there was either a failure to improve or a decline in many areas. In addition, the U.S. was ranked at the bottom of a sixteen-country list in total deaths that potentially could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care (Philanthropy News Digest).

In 1970, the average life expectancy in the United States was 70.8 years. In 2008, that number increased to 78.0 years (United States). Although average life expectancy has risen due to advances in medicine and technology, having an unhealthy lifestyle can only decrease the number of years an individual has to live. With the prevailing health of many ...

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...s butter, burgers.” Health Pop. CBS Interactive Inc., 3 October 2011. Web. 7 November 2011.

Pettinger, Tejvan. “Fat Tax: Why we should tax unhealthy foods.” Economics Help. Economics Help, 14 July 2007. Web. 15 November 2011.

Philanthropy News Digest. “U.S. Healthcare System Failing to Keep Up With Other Countries, Report Finds.” News. Foundation Center, 19 October 2011. Web. 17 November 2011.

The Economist. “Waist banned.” Economics Focus. The Economist Newspaper Limited, 30 July 2009. Web. 16 November 2011.

United States. Census Bureau. Table 104. Expectation of Life at Birth, 1970 to 2008, and Projections, 2010 to 2020. U.S. Census Bureau. Web. 16 November 2011.

Williams, Joanne. “Health-Related Quality of Life of Overweight and Obese Children.” JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. American Medical Association, 2011. Web. 17 November 2011.

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