Graehm Gray: A Junk Food Tax-OMG!

You have all read in my columns over the past few months about the impending government intervention into the adult and childhood obesity epidemics. Well my friends, here is another in the scenarios: a junk food tax. That’s right, a special tax on food items classified as “junk food.”  So which items exactly are they referring to? Let’s start with soda. As you already know from reading the Graehm Gray blog, taxation and restrictions legislation for various types of food items are popping up all over this country (and the world). Sodas, with high fructose corn syrups (HFCS) and high sugar contents have been a target for many years. Several studies have associated HFCS with increased hunger, obesity, diabetes and even pancreatic cancer. So armed with that evidence, a “soda tax” has been proposed in several northeastern cities. In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, authors Duffey, Gordon-Larsen, Shikany, Guilkey, Jacobs and Popkin determined the following details:

• The researchers found that changes in the price of soda and pizza were associated with changes in the probability of consuming those foods, as well as in the amounts consumed.
• A $1.00 increase in soda prices, for example, was tied to a mean of 124 fewer total daily calories (P=0.001), which amounted to an average weight loss of 2.34 pounds
• The researchers noted that similar trends were seen for pizza, adding that a $1.00 increase in the price of both soda and pizza together was associated with even greater changes in total energy intake, body weight, and insulin resistance.
• The researchers calculated that an 18% tax junk food tax would result in a 56-calorie decline in total daily energy intake-which according to the population level, would translate to about 5 pounds per patient per year, along with significant reductions in the risks of most obesity-related chronic diseases.

The authors conclude:

“Our results provide stronger evidence to support the potential health benefits of taxing selected foods and beverages,” they wrote. “Similar taxation policies have proven a successful means of effectively reducing adult and teenage smoking. Policies aimed at altering the price of soda or away-from-home pizza may be effective mechanisms to steer US adults toward a more healthful diet and help reduce long-term weight gain or insulin levels over time.”

So there you have it my friends, be prepared for many more taxes on food items. This is one way to stop or limit the consumption of highly caloric, highly sweetened and fatty foods. This may even have a weight loss effect as the study points out. One thing is for certain, we have to accept the imposition of greater restrictions on our diets. Statistics have shown us that we can’t discipline ourselves. Many nutrition experts and politicians agree with the taxation of unhealthy foods. We must also consider rewarding good health practices as well.  Send me your thoughts here at talk@nerdel.com.

Stay fit and healthy The New Nerdel Way!

To read more-please visit: Archives of Internal Medicine :
Duffey KJ, et al “Food price and diet and health outcomes” Arch Intern Med 2010; 170(5): 420-26.

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