Should Governments Be Able To Institute a “Fat Tax” ?

In the last few decades there is no doubt that the majority of the world has started to face an epidemic of weight loss. Especially in western countries, the average weight and the amount of obese children an adults has skyrocketed. While in 1960 the average percent of obese adults age 20-70 was around 11%, today it sits at around 35%. There are many reasons for this rise in obesity, most notably the easy access of cheap and high calorie food. With costs of healthcare and disease among this new obese demographic getting higher and higher, governments are proposing plans to combat this by essentially creating what is being called a “Fat tax”.

In the US, states like New York have already started heavier taxes on drinks like soda, which provides zero nutritional value. The same way the government has curbed smoking in the past, they are now trying to implement with obesity, but the reality is any food, if consumed enough is going to make you obese. You would essentially have to tax all food much higher, which would cause those who can barely afford to buy food in the first place, starve. Taxing foods with little nutrition might be a little bit of a solution, but in reality it will only cause people from getting obese faster. The root of the problem lies elsewhere.

Many people who are truly obese have grown to that size not because they love food, but because they build a mental attachment to food like a drug. They consume it to the point where it makes them sick, especially in times of depression. If you meet someone who is 500 pounds, 9/10 times there is a problem much deeper than them just loving the taste of food. A fat tax really would have little effect on these people. They will most likely just pay the tax anyway, similar to people who have been smoking for 30 years. The reality of a fat tax, is it would really just help the next generation the most.

A second problem is nutrition is not taught enough in schools and many people are ignorant about how the human body works. While there are much more complex issues and many factors that will cause people’s bodies to consume more or less calories, the basic math for losing weight will always be, eat less calories than your body burns. This is knowledge that I know in my public school is completely avoided until we were in high school, at which point it was too late for many people to learn. Education many times would be more beneficial than a tax to begin with.

So finally I want to talk about the legality of such a tax and the potential breech on our ability to choose freely. I would imagine that the government would be able to institute a tax like a fat tax according to the constitution, but it would bring a large amount of backlash. We have a precedent set with alcohol and tobacco so in reality if implemented, it would most likely stick. However there are some countries. Mostly socialist that are proposing to flat out fine obese people more money a year for the eventual health costs they will incur. I believe this is most likely a breach of human rights.

Socialist systems need to account for people that will spend more in their lifetimes on healthcare than others. They need to find other ways to lower the weight of these people than flat out taxes. They could do this by providing incentives, free nutritional services, ect. These services would most likely save their governments money in the long term. In the United States though , where healthcare is paid for by the individual , not the government, I believe there is far less the government should be able to do. People ultimately should reserve the right to destroy their bodies if they want to and the government shouldn’t have an opinion as long as they aren’t paying. Overall I think there is a large split of opinions on this matter, but I expect governments to take more action in the future as the epidemic is predicted to only get worse.

Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges