Is a "Fat Tax" coming?

Russellb97

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.

Michelle650

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

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

This seems relevant:

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

(Being fat is now illegal in Japan)

skpresley20

wait, who's talking about taxing "fat" people?
and where is this at?

tgh1914

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

double post, sorry

AnninStPaul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

tidmutt

I think some of you should take a step back for a moment and think about what you are saying. I don't think the government should tax "unhealthy food" it's none of their business what I eat. As many have said, determining what is unhealthy is actually quite difficult. I do think they should adjust the subsidies so that fast food doesn't end up being substantially cheaper than whole foods bought in a supermarket but then the flip side of that is what about those families struggling on the poverty line who manage to keep their kids alive by buying 10 cheeseburgers for 20 cents each. Sure, it's not healthy but it's a lot healthier than being dead.

Also, many of you talk about penalizing those overweight people who can't be bothered to lose weight and be healthy, well sure, there are plenty of those but there are also many people who struggle their whole life and fail to lose significant amounts of weight. Although the responsibility rests with them as always you can also point the finger at our society who often see it as just someone who is weak and probably stupid who should just stop eating twinkies rather than someone possibly with a deranged metabolism and probably some psychological issues. The usual response a fat person will get from their doctor is pathetic given the magnitude of the problem.

These are complex issues and can't just be addressed with some blanket gross generalizations.

As another poster mentioned, you have to start early and fix childhood obesity through education, perhaps better nutritional choices in schools and more emphasis on physical education. The reality is, short of a miraculous scientific breakthrough the current generation is likely to continue to be obese regardless of taxes, education programs or increased medical insurance rates.

honeysprinkles

I think some of you should take a step back for a moment and think about what you are saying. I don't think the government should tax "unhealthy food" it's none of their business what I eat. As many have said, determining what is unhealthy is actually quite difficult. I do think they should adjust the subsidies so that fast food doesn't end up being substantially cheaper than whole foods bought in a supermarket but then the flip side of that is what about those families struggling on the poverty line who manage to keep their kids alive by buying 10 cheeseburgers for 20 cents each. Sure, it's not healthy but it's a lot healthier than being dead.

Also, many of you talk about penalizing those overweight people who can't be bothered to lose weight and be healthy, well sure, there are plenty of those but there are also many people who struggle their whole life and fail to lose significant amounts of weight. Although the responsibility rests with them as always you can also point the finger at our society who often see it as just someone who is weak and probably stupid who should just stop eating twinkies rather than someone possibly with a deranged metabolism and probably some psychological issues. The usual response a fat person will get from their doctor is pathetic given the magnitude of the problem.

These are complex issues and can't just be addressed with some blanket gross generalizations.

As another poster mentioned, you have to start early and fix childhood obesity through education, perhaps better nutritional choices in schools and more emphasis on physical education. The reality is, short of a miraculous scientific breakthrough the current generation is likely to continue to be obese regardless of taxes, education programs or increased medical insurance rates.

I completely agree with pretty much everything you said. I am not so ready to put even more of my own personal life in the hands of the government. I am a person, not a commodity!

thankyou4thevenom

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.

Now that would be a better option.

gymshoe42

I too do not want more gov't interference in people's lives, but obesity doesn't just affect the individual only now. Like someone said, it's becoming a gov't issue. The argument is that lower income families can't afford the healthy stuff so they get the cheap stuff which is usually also the unhealthy stuff. These would be the same demographic that is on public health care and then whatever health problems they develop becomes the responsibility of the public to pay for. There's no plausible way the gov't can impose a tax based on someone's weight. I'm sure that violates some constitutional rights.

As honeysprinkle basically said, ..if a person wants to be fat, then they should be allowed to be fat. I conditionally agree. If it's not effecting anyone else, then sure... I don't care if they eat themselves to death. But others do get affected. I know people in job's that have a minor accident (like tripping over their own file cabinet) and most likely because of their morbidly obeseness, their small tumble results in severe injury and are out months. Sure a non-obese person can trip and fall as well, but I'm willing to bet the chances that the more fit person gets seriously hurt is far far lower. How about those times on an airplane where someone else's ...body .. is in your seat. That would be affecting other people...so it's not as clean cut as ... they should be able to be as fat as they want to be., cause... eventually, ... it's gonna affect someone else.

honeysprinkles

I too do not want more gov't interference in people's lives, but obesity doesn't just affect the individual only now. Like someone said, it's becoming a gov't issue. The argument is that lower income families can't afford the healthy stuff so they get the cheap stuff which is usually also the unhealthy stuff. These would be the same demographic that is on public health care and then whatever health problems they develop becomes the responsibility of the public to pay for. There's no plausible way the gov't can impose a tax based on someone's weight. I'm sure that violates some constitutional rights.

As honeysprinkle basically said, ..if a person wants to be fat, then they should be allowed to be fat. I conditionally agree. If it's not effecting anyone else, then sure... I don't care if they eat themselves to death. But others do get affected. I know people in job's that have a minor accident (like tripping over their own file cabinet) and most likely because of their morbidly obeseness, their small tumble results in severe injury and are out months. Sure a non-obese person can trip and fall as well, but I'm willing to bet the chances that the more fit person gets seriously hurt is far far lower. How about those times on an airplane where someone else's ...body .. is in your seat. That would be affecting other people...so it's not as clean cut as ... they should be able to be as fat as they want to be., cause... eventually, ... it's gonna affect someone else.

I think you have some good points. Being obese doesn't only affect yourself, often times it affects your family members and it can affect your performance in a lot of other areas of your life as well. I just don't think it needs to be a govt. issue, unless we have a national healthcare plan in the US like they do in other countries, in which case I might consider supporting a govt. tax for any activities that a person choses to do that negatively affects their health. That's not to control them or to change their habits, but just to balance out the potential extra costs. But since that is not the case for us right now, I don't see a need for it.
In other private organizations, such as your job or airlines or private health care, it should be their decision on how to deal with these issues.

tidmutt

I too do not want more gov't interference in people's lives, but obesity doesn't just affect the individual only now. Like someone said, it's becoming a gov't issue. The argument is that lower income families can't afford the healthy stuff so they get the cheap stuff which is usually also the unhealthy stuff. These would be the same demographic that is on public health care and then whatever health problems they develop becomes the responsibility of the public to pay for. There's no plausible way the gov't can impose a tax based on someone's weight. I'm sure that violates some constitutional rights.

As honeysprinkle basically said, ..if a person wants to be fat, then they should be allowed to be fat. I conditionally agree. If it's not effecting anyone else, then sure... I don't care if they eat themselves to death. But others do get affected. I know people in job's that have a minor accident (like tripping over their own file cabinet) and most likely because of their morbidly obeseness, their small tumble results in severe injury and are out months. Sure a non-obese person can trip and fall as well, but I'm willing to bet the chances that the more fit person gets seriously hurt is far far lower. How about those times on an airplane where someone else's ...body .. is in your seat. That would be affecting other people...so it's not as clean cut as ... they should be able to be as fat as they want to be., cause... eventually, ... it's gonna affect someone else.

I somewhat agree, my point is that it's a complex issue and a very difficult thing to regulate, I would hope we can find a better solution though. The government currently subsidies commodities that help to make fast food so cheap (we should also give fast food chains some credit in that they've been creative in driving down the cost/price - the free market at work) so perhaps we could strive to make healthier products cheaper without taxing the crap out of a burger.

No one wants to be fat, especially morbidly obese, unless you are insane. Many people who are in that situation often despair because despite trying many diets they continually fail. More help could be found for those people. As another poster said, why not allow the cost of a dietician or a certified trainer to be claimed via health insurance. Educate kids in healthy eating from a young age, teach kids how to cook healthy meals, who knows, some of it might rub off on their parents.

On the topic of charging obese people higher insurance rates, I think that's pretty much impossible. My BMI is higher than some of my skinny friends yet I am substantially fitter and probably healthier than them. It was highlighted to me recently when we visited a theme park and even the skinny dudes couldn't spent the whole day walking the park, they had to sit down constantly and take breaks, I kept going all day without an issue because I exercise regularly. So who should pay a higher premium?

MIMITIME

The government needs to create some jobs to help people get back on their feet. Once they get that done and get the economy out of the toilet, maybe, just maybe they can spend a little time making fat people feel worse about themselves than they already do.

tidmutt

The government needs to create some jobs to help people get back on their feet. Once they get that done and get the economy out of the toilet, maybe, just maybe they can spend a little time making fat people feel worse about themselves than they already do.

LOL, good point. hehehe

djdelano

The government needs to get WAY WAY WAY out of the way of the private sector on all counts.

Flat Tax, or consumption tax, either one of these would go a HUGE distance to solve numerous issues.

The government has no business telling you how to live your life on ANY front. We are a free society, it must stay this way or we will fail. People would take care of their own problems if the government would get out of the way.

Entitlements are one of the worst contributors to overweight people, guess where that's coming from.. The GOVERNMENT.

I love America, I am a patriot. But the administrations (all of them) as far back as after Reagan are simply out of control.

When you pay your taxes you contribute to calamity, sucks doesnt it?

-D

0PhAtDaDdY

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.

Let's see I do taxes for a living, we just got in the new software for the upcoming tax season and we have to weight the client and input that data on the tax return and then it will calculate your credits or reduce them depending on your BMI.. The IRS has an approved scale we have to purchase, the client now stands on and the software inputs that number in the the tax software without telling us their exact weight. It's the craziest thing I have seen since been doing taxes.. OK I suppose I can say now "just kidding" but I do do do do taxes. hahaha...