"Fat Tax": For or Against?

[HD MM]

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. More than half of the population is overweight or obese and 300,000 Americans die each year of obesity-related causes. Currently, 17 states and the District of Columbia levy taxes on soft drinks, candy and other foods of low nutritional value.

The public health cost is enormous: about $71 billion is spent annually on treating diet-related diseases. Is the answer to start treating junk food like tobacco?


Is this a legitamite idea to help lower costs on health care? Or is this yet another government led way to legislate people's behavior?

http://www.speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1332b-1.html

[HDRoberts]

They should focus more on making healthy food more readily available, less time consuming, and cost-competitive with junk food.

The article clearly points out the reasons I'd be against this:

-"But those taxes go into general funding - not health programs" - Just what we need, giving politicians more money to blow.
-"the fat tax unfairly burdens the poor, who on average consume more food of low nutritive value than wealthier Americans" - Healthier food is expensive and takes longer to prepare. That is why more people don't reach for it.
-"No one's talking about taxing other high fat or unhealthy foods. How about a special tax on brie? Cheese has loads of fat. Or on Starbucks coffee? All that caffeine can't be good for you. Suggest those taxes and the people would take up arms to defend their right to buy gourmet foods" - Exactly, who gets to decide what is healthy or unhealthy?

[Bob Haller]

I support taxing high calorie low nutrition food as a dedicated $ source for national health care

[fallout2600]

I support NO nanny state taxation.
If people want to eat junk, then they should be allowed to pay the same price for junk. Since when is it our responsibility to tell people what to eat?

[stevenl]

If people want to eat themselves fat then so be it. Just when you get sick dont expect me to pay your medical bills. Dont expect a good parking spot because your a fat ass, you of all people SHOULD park in the back!

[msmith198025]

Against it

[Skyhi]

I'm against all taxes of this nature regardless of the product targeted for taxation.

[froggigger]

I support NO nanny state taxation.
If people want to eat junk, then they should be allowed to pay the same price for junk. Since when is it our responsibility to tell people what to eat?

:thumbup::thumbup:

[Bob Haller]

If people want to eat themselves fat then so be it. Just when you get sick dont expect me to pay your medical bills. Dont expect a good parking spot because your a fat ass, you of all people SHOULD park in the back!

trouble is the uninsured must be cared for when they get ill.

so tax the poor food choices to pay for the care they must get.

everyone should get some exercise daily. i park far away from stores, spots with lots of room easy in and out, for this reason

[msmith198025]

trouble is the uninsured must be cared for when they get ill.

so tax the poor food choices to pay for the care they must get.

everyone should get some exercise daily. i park far away from stores, spots with lots of room easy in and out, for this reason

They already are cared for bob

[Bob Haller]

They already are cared for bob


thats my point, pay for care

[stevenl]

trouble is the uninsured must be cared for when they get ill.

so tax the poor food choices to pay for the care they must get.

everyone should get some exercise daily. i park far away from stores, spots with lots of room easy in and out, for this reason

No they should die. They are the ones who committed suicide by not taking care of themselves. You make the bed, you sleep in it.

[Bob Haller]

No they should die. They are the ones who committed suicide by not taking care of themselves. You make the bed, you sleep in it.

steve? where did the real steve go???

mrbid obesity is a confirmed DISEASE

[stevenl]

Your right its a disease of the mind. Stop EATING you will not be "morbidly obeese"

[Bob Haller]

Your right its a disease of the mind. Stop EATING you will not be "morbidly obeese"

I have known people with that opinion, then something happens in their group. Like a trip and fall restricts someone activities and they gain LOTS of weight fast.

The glass house your tossing stones in may one day be yours........

[stevenl]

Bob, guess what. That just proves my point.

And I am not talking about people who are handicap before being fat. Thats a whole different story. Nor am I talking about old people who because of age have trouble moving around. However even those people can control the weight by controlling their diet. When you cant move anymore guess what that means not more midnight ice cream.

The people who I am talking about which is the majority were perfectly healthy before they go morbidly obeese. They either ate themselves fat because of a number of excuses. From Depression to addiction etc.

[froggigger]

You know it's time to diet when you try to get up in the morning and rock yourself back to sleep. ;)

[Bob Haller]

theres many ways people become fat, genetics is the main cause.

when humans were hunter gathers the ability to put on weight, helped people survive famins.

with food at every corner the abity to put on weight is no longer a good thing

[msmith198025]

Genetics is the MAIN cause? I find that hard to believe....

[Bob Haller]

selective breeding encouraged the ability to get fat.

those who dont put on weight in times of plenty, didnt tend to survive famines.

pure natural selection at work

[bruce]

theres many ways people become fat, genetics is the main cause.

Bull****, bull****, bull****.

Eating too much is the main cause, obesity, drug abuse, alcoholism is due to human weakness, nothing else.

I have posted over at Crazy America a few times about my diet, 326lbs Nov.2006, now I weigh 166lbs( I am only 5' 7" tall), how I did it was the no/low carb diet(and exercise), I gave up all the bad stuff(and the overeating of the bad stuff) that caused me to be morbidly obese, I did not have the weight loss surgery for a easy way out, I got my a$$ out of bed at 4am everyday to go to Lifetime Fitness for a 3 hour workout, I watched what I eat.

But the biggest point I wanted to make was I was the one responsible for myself being obese, I was the the person who ate two large double cheese pizzas in one sitting and genetics had nothing to do with it.

By the way, I was always looking for a excuse for a reason why I was fat, low acting thyroid ( my mom and my daughter suffer from it ), I had four knee surgeries so it made it hard to do any type of cardio exercise( I now do the lifecycle for 1 1/2 hours, but can't do the stairmaster or the treadmill because of pain ), etc, etc till I finally realized I was the one responsable, nothing else.

[froggigger]

Bull****, bull****, bull****.

Eating too much is the main cause, obesity, drug abuse, alcoholism is due to human weakness, nothing else.

I have posted over at Crazy America a few times about my diet, 326lbs Nov.2006, now I weigh 166lbs( I am only 5' 7" tall), how I did it was the no/low carb diet(and exercise), I gave up all the bad stuff(and the overeating of the bad stuff) that caused me to be morbidly obese, I did not have the weight loss surgery for a easy way out, I got my a$$ out of bed at 4am everyday to go to Lifetime Fitness for a 3 hour workout, I watched what I eat.

But the biggest point I wanted to make was I was the one responsible for myself being obese, I was the the person who ate two large double cheese pizzas in one sitting and genetics had nothing to do with it.

By the way, I was always looking for a excuse for a reason why I was fat, low acting thyroid ( my mom and my daughter suffer from it ), I had four knee surgeries so it made it hard to do any type of cardio exercise( I now do the lifecycle for 1 1/2 hours, but can't do the stairmaster or the treadmill because of pain ), etc, etc till I finally realized I was the one reasonable, nothing else.

Post of the week. :thumbup:

Congrats on your weight loss. :hatsoff:

[msmith198025]

Post of the week. :thumbup:

Congrats on your weight loss. :hatsoff:

Yeah, that was a good one right there

[Bob Haller]

Bull****, bull****, bull****.

Eating too much is the main cause, obesity, drug abuse, alcoholism is due to human weakness, nothing else.

I have posted over at Crazy America a few times about my diet, 326lbs Nov.2006, now I weigh 166lbs( I am only 5' 7" tall), how I did it was the no/low carb diet(and exercise), I gave up all the bad stuff(and the overeating of the bad stuff) that caused me to be morbidly obese, I did not have the weight loss surgery for a easy way out, I got my a$$ out of bed at 4am everyday to go to Lifetime Fitness for a 3 hour workout, I watched what I eat.

But the biggest point I wanted to make was I was the one responsible for myself being obese, I was the the person who ate two large double cheese pizzas in one sitting and genetics had nothing to do with it.

By the way, I was always looking for a excuse for a reason why I was fat, low acting thyroid ( my mom and my daughter suffer from it ), I had four knee surgeries so it made it hard to do any type of cardio exercise( I now do the lifecycle for 1 1/2 hours, but can't do the stairmaster or the treadmill because of pain ), etc, etc till I finally realized I was the one responsable, nothing else.

congratsa your part of the !5 to 2% that can lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off, your very lucky.

for excellent medical reasons very few can do that

[msmith198025]

congratsa your part of the !5 to 2% that can lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off, your very lucky.

for excellent medical reasons very few can do that

To be fair bob, very few try.

[stevenl]

Very few even think there fatness is a problem

[vurbano]

congratsa your part of the !5 to 2% that can lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off, your very lucky.

for excellent medical reasons very few can do that
My son lost a lot over the past year or so by exercise and dieting. You mean we have the entire statistical probablity for the nation right here in the forum? Or perhaps too many are just unmotivated and lazy sloths like yourself and let the rest of us pay for your surgery. :augentreher:

[vurbano]

Very few even think there fatness is a problem

amen

[bruce]

Bob posted a thread over at Sat.Guys about it being 8 years since his surgery, but the biggest point it made was that Bob is back up to 230lbs and he blamed it on chocolate.


if it werent for chocolate i would be skinny.........

Bob, it is not the chocolate's fault, it is your fault, don't eat so much of it (or not at all), eat some fruit instead or do some cardio to minimize the impact of eating the chocolate, take some responsibility for your actions.

[msmith198025]

take some responsibility for your actions.

Wise words that can apply to much more than eating the wrong thing

[Bob Haller]

nearly everyone who has weight loss surgerey regains some weight.

its not perfect, but far better than any other thing I ever did .................

[Bob Haller]

I should add the average initial RNY weight loss is 70% I am still at 8 years at or above that:)

Plus way more physically able to do stuff than pre op.

If it wasnt for a knee with no good cartlidge I would be a runner... Limited hiking occasional 5 miles over rough terrain is tolerable.

although ptre op I was a candidate for knee replacement

[stevenl]

http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/07/a-nation-of-blubberbutts.html