Will Taxation Fix the Obesity Problem?

As the obesity epidemic continues to spread throughout the western civilization, the health of many millions are placed in severe jeopardy. With rates projected to hit a saturation level of 43% in the US by 2050, incidence of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia will escalate and threaten to collapse our already failing health care system.

The current trend will only be broken by making some drastic changes to the driving forces behind overweight and obesity. One possible solution that has been proposed is to tax the type of foods most commonly linked to overeating and poor health. Is this enough to influence the eating habits of those most susceptible to obesity?

Understanding the Real Cause of Obesity

Part of the problem with obesity is that it is the result of many compounding factors. In addition to consuming excess calories and insufficient physical activity, stress is known to be an important contributor to body fat placed round the abdomen and declining health. Working in harmony with your appetite hormones, leptin and ghrelin can have a significant impact on how fat is metabolized in our body.

Meal timing, meal size and macronutrient ratios determine our metabolic rate and the quality and amount of sleep have also been shown to impact how we burn fat. There are many physical and psychological elements that must be mastered to achieve successful and permanent weight loss.

Study Examines the Role of Taxation on Obesity

Information compiled by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and published in The Lancet Series on Chronic Diseases and Development examined the potential impact of placing a tax on unhealthy foods, restricting food advertising and improving food labeling. Researchers determined that these three measures would add nearly 7 million good health life years over the next 20 years if implemented in western cultures around the world. The annual cost would be less than $1 per person each year. Are these measures really necessary?

Natural Steps to Weight Loss and Controlling Obesity

The importance of losing weight and preventing obesity on our health cannot be underscored. Individuals who are more than 30 pounds over their ideal weight place an immense burden on their vascular system that leads to increased blood pressure, dysfunction of the delicate inner lining of the arteries and blood sugar surges resulting in metabolic syndrome. 

Placing a tax on fast foods, processed foods and sweetened beverages would likely be effective, as these types of measures have worked in the past to curb cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. A better idea may be to rely on self control. Once you have determined that weight loss is the correct goal for you, avoiding processed food will become second nature.

Purge Unhealthy Foods for Two Weeks

You must be strong for a period of two weeks as you flush the unhealthy sugar, hydrogenated fats and refined carbs from your diet. Slowly increase natural food sources including fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, chicken, and olive oil. After this period you won’t miss the foods that encourage excess fat storage and natural weight loss will be the result.

Every man, woman and child should adopt a goal of healthy eating. Whether the scale indicates you need to lose weight or not, excess unhealthy calories will cause fat to be stored in critical organs such as the liver, pancreas and heart. Over the course of years this fat accumulation will trigger disease. While taxation may be a short term fix to large problem, the only way to achieve permanent weight loss is to take control of your dietary destiny.