Mark Bittman

With obesity rates increasing at an exponential rate, a tax on fat foods and specifically high sugar beverages of 20% or about 1 cent per ounce could reduce obesity rates by 3.5%, bringing the rate down to 30% among adults (Kalaidis). While 3.5% may not sound like a lot, if you take an approximate U.S. population of 350 million people, suddenly that mere 3.5% turns into over 12 million Americans who would no longer be considered obese. Marion Nestle, a well-respected expert in food policy, recently conducted a study investigating the impact of a junk food tax through predictive modeling. Her study revealed that 2,600 deaths, 9,500 heart attacks, and 240,000 new cases of diabetes could be prevented with a simple 1 cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages (Satran). A junk food tax of this kind could greatly increase the health of the American public as a whole by reducing death rates and healthcare

Eating healthy has become a thing of the past. In the essay by Mark Bittman “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables Instead” offers an idea on how to change the Standard American Diet: making healthy food cheaper and fast, processed food more expensive. Calculating the tax to increase one penny would make a difference in the price and the decision for the people as to whether or not the people are will purchase processed foods. He explains that taxes on carbonated drinks and processed foods should increase due to the amount of money it would bring into the government, and the benefits of a healthier American. Bittman’s results remove chronic health diseases that reinvent the way we eat. In “Nickle and Dimed on Not Getting by in America,”

In the documentary film “Fed Up”, sugar and the sweeteners in our food or beverages is featured to be the prime ingredient that is making the most of our adolescents obese. It tells of a few families struggling with obesity, and how these families have been trying to do everything they can to help their children lose weight. It shows what kind of food that they are eating at home and the weight problem that most of the family is struggling with. The food that is being served at schools and also the thousands of products that contain sugar, everywhere groceries are bought; sugar is the main cause for obesity. It tells that low wage earners have no choice, but to buy unhealthy food, because healthier food cost more. “The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health” article in the U. S. News. Although it does cost more, a school of public health wrote in an article, “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be

Obesity is a continuing problem in the American society. Obesity, occurs when, the amount of energy taken is more than the energy released (Abraham 237). The growing obesity rates could be slightly declined by the availability of more affordable, healthier foods and the decline of these temporary quick fit diets, many Americans put themselves on as a means to get fit. The opposing viewpoint may suggest that obesity can be fixed simply by shopping for better, healthier food choices in grocery stores and learning how to count calories to maintain a healthy weight; but that simple solution may not be an achievable solution for every American. Furthermore, the difference of cost between healthy compared to unhealthy foods is completely outrageous. Numberless people strive to go into a grocery store and select all of the healthy food options of their liking; however, healthy food options cost more and are seemingly unaffordable compared to junk food. The government should regulate the prices of junk and healthy food as a means to combat obesity in America, so that all persons can achieve good health.

For this reason, I believe there is great need to campaign for new legislation and social programming that addresses the following supportive evidence for obesity resolution. According to Frieden, Dietz, and Collins, implementing legislation that heavily taxes unhealthy food will help reduce consumption of these foods. Decreasing the cost of healthy foods, subsidizing farmer’s markets in underprivileged areas, creating zoning legislation that prohibits the building of fast food restaurants in the vicinity of schools and recreation areas, prohibition of unhealthy food advertisements directed at children, requiring restaurants to offer healthy food options for kids with the nutritional information listed on the menu, increase active transportation and recreation, and improve physical activity programs will also reduce childhood obesity (Frieden, Dietz, & Collins, 2010). The difficulty in implementing these solutions is monetary and political. The businesses negatively affected by these changes will fight against them and the cost of subsidizing groceries for the impoverished areas will cost.

Contemporary debates regarding the increase of obesity are dominated by a personal responsibility frame. However, the most impacting factor for obesity in the United States is income. With farm subsidies, the price of soft drinks decreased by 23% between 1985 and 2000, meanwhile the cost of fruits and vegetables increased by 40% (SG5 Lecture Notes, 11/8/16). Based off the Bureau of Labor Statistics the cost of unhealthy foods has dramatically fallen while the price of fruits and vegetables has inflated.

"WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco” (Tama, M., 2015). Will this warning detour the American public from drinking sugary beverages? In 2011-2013, the Center for Disease Control reported that two states Colorado and Hawaii had less than 20% obesity. The Midwest led the country with a 28.7% obesity rate. When surveyed again in 2013, the South now leads the countries obesity epidemic with 30.2 % and the Midwest comes in a close second with 30.1%. There are no longer any states that fall beneath the 20% threshold (Obesity Prevalence Maps, 2013). With obesity rates rising, researchers are focusing on what leads to these statistics so that it can be reversed. These startling statistics requires action to be taken to reverse this growing epidemic. Obesity, Tooth decay, and Type 2 Diabetes have been linked to negative side effects of sugary beverages. As a leader in healthcare, Mayo Clinic should remove sugary drinks and foods from their hospitals, clinics, and health systems to model healthy living.

Congress hereby finds and declares that the United States of America has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of obese people and the number of deaths caused by the symptoms of obesity. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable deaths and accounts for 18% of all deaths in America (Fox 2013); thus, a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages will decrease consumer rates and lower the obesity level. The rise in sweetened beverage consumption is parallel to the increase in obesity rates. Soda and other sugary substances are the largest contributors to sugar and calorie intake; soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and sports drinks are considered the top most consumed beverages in America (Kickthecan 2014). The annual medical costs due to obesity and overweight Americans is also staggering. The proposed solution will not hinder the necessary diet and nutritional value of one 's meal, but rather improve it by reducing the amount of sugar American 's consume, especially since sugary beverages are a large factor of obesity that can be costly and life threatening.

Small, medium, and supersize give picture to the progression of obesity in the United States. Not only has obesity tripled in the past 40 years but the Centers for Disease Control estimates that “three quarters of the American population will likely be overweight or obese by the year 2020” (Fryar, 2014). The Obesity Society in 2014 claimed “U.S. adult consumption of added sugars increased more than 30 percent over three decades” (Turner, 2014). Gary Taubes, author of his 2016 book The Case Against Sugar claims that “sugar related diseases are costing America over $150 billion dollars” and supporting this concern, Gary Lustig, author of Fat Chance, calculates that “if we continue to subsidize sugar…preventable chronic disease rates will

More often than not, obesity is blamed upon the individual. If they would only eat better and exercise they would lose the extra weight. However, there is a fair argument to be made for complicity on the part of an industry that preys upon the nation’s sugar addiction and a government that relies on outdated practices and

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

Sugary drinks are blamed for increasing the rates of chronic disease and obesity in America. Yet efforts to reduce their consumption through taxes or other measures have gone nowhere. The beverage industry has spent millions defeating them. - Robert Reich. This quote shows that while a sugary drink tax would be beneficial the beverage industry will do anything to stop it. This writer is in favor of a sugary drink tax even though it might be a tough tax to implement. The tax could be used to expand on healthy eating resources and education. The government could also use the added revenue to subsidize farmers who grow healthier options. Lower sugar consumption rates would make way for healthier lifestyles. Healthier lifestyles would lower obesity rates and in turn help lower insurance costs.

With a growing epidemic of obesity in America, some states and lawmakers have resorted to taking unconventional measures in order to counter the growing issue. Many legislators are debating the effectiveness of a “fat tax” would be on limiting the consumption of soda, high fat foods, and high sugar foods, and ultimately reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality due to obesity. The idea is that long term consumption of high fat, high sugar foods and drinks lead to many health problems, so making them more expensive and less accessible should decrease the health issues related to their consumption.

Just last year, Berkeley’s and San Francisco’s ballots included measure that would tax sugary drinks one or two cents per ounce because of their high sugar content. Berkley, less than thirty minutes away from San Francisco, became the first city in the United states to adopt the tax while San Francisco became the thirty-first city to oppose it (Knight). As the tax and its ideas gain popularity, more cities are including the measure for the tax in their elections. The issue is that America’s obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past twenty years and have cost our country about $147 billion dollars in health expenses a year (Reinberg). One of the proposed ways to fix this problem is a sugar tax. It is a tax targeted at hydro processed overbought snacks with a high sugar content that have been proven to cause health risks. This would be similar to alcohol and tobacco. We can still buy these products but warning labels are placed on them and a tax is levied to offset the costs of what could happen to a person 's health after over consumption of these items. Proponents of this tax argue that sugar is one of the main causes of obesity to surge and a tax will be a useful deterrent when buying overly sugared items. Opponents of the tax argue that taxation is an ineffective way to get consumers to stop buying sugary items and it will most directly impact poorer families. Also, the government should not have the control to tell us what we can and