Is a "Fat Tax" coming?

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Russellb97
Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
The major problem with a "fat tax" besides being totally ridiculous, is how are they going to measure who's fat?
If it's BMI, get ready for a bunch of lawsuits. Every bodybuilder and athlete's like Adrian Peterson are obese according to BMI.

Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.
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Replies

  • Michelle650
    Michelle650 Posts: 218
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    I dont think they will be able to make the healthy food that much cheaper! I do think they should increase the price of crappy foods! Therefore people will only buy them as "treats" and as a once off!!

    But I dont think that will solve the problem!! People need to be educated about healthy eating! It should start in school! Yes we are taught a little bit about what foods are good and bad, but overall it is a topic that is bypassed in schools I find!
  • vizamy
    vizamy Posts: 60 Member
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    Treat unhealthy food like cigarettes. Ban advertising, plain packaging, health warnings. Tax on it that goes towards campaigns etc. that promote healthy eating and exercise.
  • timtamslam
    timtamslam Posts: 86 Member
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    This seems relevant:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU_Ezs3gXB0

    (Being fat is now illegal in Japan)
  • skpresley20
    skpresley20 Posts: 177 Member
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    wait, who's talking about taxing "fat" people?
    and where is this at?
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
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    Treat unhealthy food like cigarettes. Ban advertising, plain packaging, health warnings. Tax on it that goes towards campaigns etc. that promote healthy eating and exercise.
    Well, another problem is who would decide what is "healthy". It is such a vague term. Does it mean low fat? low sugar? low carb? low calorie? All of these things can be either good or bad for a person depending on their circumstances. I could just see the gov't taxing someone suffering from an ED when they try to eat something that's not low cal.
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
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    double post, sorry
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
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    A direct tax is unlikely, however I can see putting punitive taxes on unhealthy foods or adjusting health insurance rates based upon weight/fitness/compliance with physician instructions. Life insurance premiums are higher for smokers, why shouldn't health insurance premiums be higher for people with unhealthy habits? Why should the rest of us pay for something if the individual doesn't care enough to try?
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
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    How about some basic perimeters for this discussion? How is "they"? Where are "they"? What exactly are "they" proposing? I'm a current events junkie, and I'm fairly certain that congress is not considering any such measure.

    There is always one or two crackpot ideas like this floating around, but no one mistakes them for viable legislative agendas.
  • thecrossfitter
    thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
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    The major problem with a "fat tax" besides being totally ridiculous, is how are they going to measure who's fat?
    If it's BMI, get ready for a bunch of lawsuits. Every bodybuilder and athlete's like Adrian Peterson are obese according to BMI.

    Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

    There are a lot of flaws with BMI, especially in regards to very fit individuals who put on high levels of muscle mass. I can imagine A LOT of backlash from that.
  • lakersfan4life
    lakersfan4life Posts: 322 Member
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    How about giving people tax breaks for say, approved diet plans, APPROVED trainers, dieticians, gym memberships, etc. Meaning being able to write off some or all of these costs. Promote healthy living and stop taxing people!!!

    This i would imagine would lower overall health costs for the country as well.
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
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    How about giving people tax breaks for say, approved diet plans, APPROVED trainers, dieticians, gym memberships, etc. Meaning being able to write off some or all of these costs. Promote healthy living and stop taxing people!!!

    This i would imagine would lower overall health costs for the country as well.
    ^^^ There you go! I could get behind that.
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
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    It would be nice if insurance companies would be more proactive about giving incentives and reduced rates for people who are healthy. I know some do already...but it would be nice to have that put into that new health care law.
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

    Ain't that the truth! If we're going to subsidize farmers, let's subsidize those growing actual foodstuffs like broccoli and kale and apples. You can't tell me that some of the corn farms couldn't, or wouldn't convert!
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,901 Member
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    I remember in Massachusetts USA, they were talking about it last year. They are going to charge an additional tax on junk food (chips, cookies, etc) . I relocated and stopped following it, but I don't think that is fair. In MA they do have a state health plan everyone is required to be on medical insurance or you will be fined, that is why they were wanted to enforce the fat tax.
    But for the rest of the country (USA) that is not the case, if it were then yes they have a point.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
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    I think people should be able to eat what they want and be whatever size that they want. It's a personal decision in my opinion, not a government issue. I can understand having to pay more for healthcare if you have unhealthy habits like smoking or are overweight, but otherwise I don't really think it's the governments business. Although I should say that I fully support healthier options in schools because children are too young to be able to understand the consequences of eating poorly.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    I think the fat tax is coming from an increased burden to society via the health problems associated to being overweight.

    BMI is just some easy excuse to justify it. In reality, everyone would have to submit their blood/urine work for evaluation.
  • Jolenebib
    Jolenebib Posts: 142 Member
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    I think people should be able to eat what they want and be whatever size that they want. It's a personal decision in my opinion, not a government issue. I can understand having to pay more for healthcare if you have unhealthy habits like smoking or are overweight, but otherwise I don't really think it's the governments business. Although I should say that I fully support healthier options in schools because children are too young to be able to understand the consequences of eating poorly.

    The problem is that it is becoming a government issue. The military is having a hard time recruiting because many of the current recruits are over weight and don't meet the weight standards. That is a national security issue and IS something the government is worried about. Also, We spend BILLIONS of dollars on weight related health issues for people who can't pay and it increases our insurance premiums. Which means we all pay for everyone else's weight issues.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
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    I think people should be able to eat what they want and be whatever size that they want. It's a personal decision in my opinion, not a government issue. I can understand having to pay more for healthcare if you have unhealthy habits like smoking or are overweight, but otherwise I don't really think it's the governments business. Although I should say that I fully support healthier options in schools because children are too young to be able to understand the consequences of eating poorly.

    The problem is that it is becoming a government issue. The military is having a hard time recruiting because many of the current recruits are over weight and don't meet the weight standards. That is a national security issue and IS something the government is worried about. Also, We spend BILLIONS of dollars on weight related health issues for people who can't pay and it increases our insurance premiums. Which means we all pay for everyone else's weight issues.
    I don't really like the idea of only being healthy so that I can possibly be available for the government to use as a military tool. I stand by feeling that it should remain a personal choice. The government is already too far into our personal lives as far as I'm concerned. With the exceptions of having healthy food in schools and having to pay more for insurance if you chose to be unhealthy, I stand by my opinion.
  • oldsoul918
    oldsoul918 Posts: 110 Member
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    A direct tax is unlikely, however I can see putting punitive taxes on unhealthy foods or adjusting health insurance rates based upon weight/fitness/compliance with physician instructions. Life insurance premiums are higher for smokers, why shouldn't health insurance premiums be higher for people with unhealthy habits? Why should the rest of us pay for something if the individual doesn't care enough to try?

    I read once that overweight people cost insurance companies 7 times as much as smokers do. I wonder if that's true...?

    I work for a company that is self-insured and doesn't allow smokers (won't hire you if you smoke and will fire you for lying on your app if they find out you really do), but 70% of my co-workers range from moderately overweight to obese and many are diabetics. I'm not all up on diabetes, but doesn't that oftentimes have to do with being overweight? That's got to be costing us a fortune...my insurance has gone up every year I've worked here.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    Options
    A direct tax is unlikely, however I can see putting punitive taxes on unhealthy foods or adjusting health insurance rates based upon weight/fitness/compliance with physician instructions. Life insurance premiums are higher for smokers, why shouldn't health insurance premiums be higher for people with unhealthy habits? Why should the rest of us pay for something if the individual doesn't care enough to try?

    I read once that overweight people cost insurance companies 7 times as much as smokers do. I wonder if that's true...?

    I work for a company that is self-insured and doesn't allow smokers (won't hire you if you smoke and will fire you for lying on your app if they find out you really do), but 70% of my co-workers range from moderately overweight to obese and many are diabetics. I'm not all up on diabetes, but doesn't that oftentimes have to do with being overweight? That's got to be costing us a fortune...my insurance has gone up every year I've worked here.
    that's crazy. I'd think that overall being overweight can be much more dangerous! Yet it seems to be the thing that is more accepted in our society. I see so many Truth campaign and Tobacco Free Florida ads on tv, yet virtually nothing about the dangers of obesity and eating junk food! Personally, I feel like informing people is enough. People understand that obesity has risks, people understand that smoking or drinking has risks, I find all of the propaganda to not only be annoying, but borderline controlling. In the end, it's your body and your decision on how to take care of it. Well, that's my opinion of it all anyways.

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