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A nutrition study conducted by Barry Popkin, of the Department of Nutrition and Economics at the University of North Carolina, has determined that the number of overweight or obese people in the world outnumber the starving, with approximately 800 million starving/near starving and 1.3 billion overweight people. Popkin has also followed the lives of more than 15,000 people in China for the past 17 years, noting that none of them were obese when his study started, but nearly 25% are now. Using this as a baseline for other countries, Popkin points a finger at a "considerable" drop in the consumption of cereals (grains) and an increase in the consumption of fats, what he calls a "classic Westernization pattern".
On top of the dietary switch from grains to fats, Popkin says that consumption of high-calorie drinks are a problem, specifically in Australia and the US. Sugary drinks are being cited as a major cause of obesity more and more often because they replace calorie-free drinks like water, and the extra calories are not taken into account with the consumption of less food. In fact, we were recently reminded that a glass of juice will have as many calories as a glass of soda, if not more. Popkin suggests a 5¢ per gram of sugar tax on sweet drinks to combat the popularity of such drinks and, perhaps, curb the obesity rate, noting that high taxation was able to drive down the number of smokers somewhat. Such a plan could work on a small scale, but to combat the rising obesity level on a global level - not to mention to do something about the millions still starving - will take more work than a tax increase.
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8-23-2006 @10:11AM Seth said... I just go to the gym 3-4 times a week, keeps me pretty fit. I dont understand why people that are overweight or obese dont want to do everything in their power to get thinner and more fit. Life is better when you are lean. I eat healthy, to me health food tastes just as good if not better than junk foor or fast food. After eating that crap i feel like im going to puke, but after a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat i feel great. I like being able to have sex with my girlfriend for hours on end...I wouldnt be able to do that if i was fat...
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8-23-2006 @10:14AM Penne said... TO ROBYN: GIVE ME A BREAK. You say fast food is cheaper than store bought. The problem is that if you are obese, then you DON't just buy one small hamburger. You buy MORE than one and the fries and coke to go with it. THAT IS NOT CHEAPER. You are the perfect, gluttonous lazy person that fits the stereotype. You are too lazy to cook high fiber, high protein, low fat meals. They don't cost more in the long run. We have to pay for your heart diseases and high blood pressure, and diabetes. That costs A LOT more than EATING HEALTHY in the long run!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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8-23-2006 @10:17AM Bonnie said... I am obese and a smoker. I hate both. What I need is a psychologist, not taxes. I think an idea is to offer tax breaks to people who quit smoking or who do not smoke for 6 months or more during a year. This could surely be verified by a doctor if needed, and would be more likely to offer something to the public than a higher tax on soda.
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8-23-2006 @10:17AM Kim said... Ok, We are responsible for our own size and eating habits. Most people know a whole wheat piece of bread is better than white and fruit is better than donuts, but we eat the junk anyway - freedom of choice. Granted it's bad choices most of us are making, but should big brother get involved in tying to make us lean? Look what they are currently doing for our youth...Take schools where we learn a lot of habits that take us into adulthood. Phys ed has all been but cut out of most schools. No exercise and junk food in our cafeterias are a great way to start the next generation getting obese. The kids are sitting on their butts all day studying for that big exam and recess and physical activity is cut out. How is that "healthy" for the young. Our brains are getting book smart and our bodies are getting food and exercise dumb! We need to have more healthy foods available in the schools and though most are starting this trend, they still offer the garbage food, (that as a kid they will CHOOSE over fruit and veggies). Hmm, french fries or salad? What 10 year old will choose a salad? Not many that I know. And bring back gym and recess! Let's get moving..that's a big step to stopping the future of obesity, diabetes, heart failure, etc.... Taxing sugar is a stupid non-solution to a real problem. Let's have some real solutions!
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8-23-2006 @10:17AM heather said... I think this is a load of bull. The government just needs another excuse to give themselves more money, and they found it. I am a mother of two, and unfortunatly overweight I do not drink soda, nor do I buy junk food, but because everything that is healthy for you has to be so highly expensive, it's hard for me to purchase these foods for a family of four. I was not a heavy child or teenager, my weight was put on during pregnancy. So if they want to help people who are overweight , how about LOWERING THE COST OF THE FRESH FRUITS AND VEGGIES,geez, I bet they never thought of that, or if they did they said, "now we cant do that , that would be insane. Make the gourmet healthy items more accesable to everyone and you wont have such a problem. They just want more money for their fat pockets.
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8-23-2006 @10:23AM heather said... thats another things, too, memberships to gyms and or health clubs, why do they have to be so outrageous. It's not fair, when you have a family and are trying to just get by from week to week. you cant afford those luxeries of going to a gym, or as I said before buying the right kinds of foods to feed you and ur family. You have no choice but to buy all that red meat, and box dinners , or frozen dinners, because the meals they make go further to feed ur family. If the government really cared , they would have free community places for people to bring their familes too, so they could enjoy exercise together. God forbid these self centered folks use their brains, its not rocket science, lower prices of the food, and the gyms. And more people would go.
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8-23-2006 @10:25AM Stacey said... I think taxing the cheap, unhealthy food will just make it harder on the poor. People with money can afford it either way. I don't think a nickle will break anyone that makes more than $40K a year. It will make it harder for the people that live minute to minute and count every penny. Unfortunately the processed food is more affordable for them.
Sad but true.
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8-23-2006 @10:28AM Sue said... As a T2 diabetic I can say that most of the dietary advice given today is not going to do a damned thing for the obesity problem. As long as the government and the health organizations continue to promote a high carb low fat diet, we will continue. This is the diet that has been advocated for the past 30+ years. How's it been workin'?? Read the headlines for the answer. The answers to the obesity epidemic are in hyperinsulinemia (google it) and realizing that we have to reduce the carbohydrates and INCREASE, yes, increase the good fats. This isn't going to happen as long as there's money to be made in the high carb foods and in the "treatments" of the health problems they create. Obesity is much too profitable for far too many.
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8-23-2006 @10:29AM don moores said... Tax on sugar!!! Reminds me of the movie "Demolition Man" where everything that the guy in charge (big brother) thinks is bad for us has been made illegal.
More people are obese than in the past, not because they eat more than they might have in the past, but because they do physical work less... sitting in their recliners watching the T.V. More and more physical labor is being replaced with automation... go to Home Depot, for example, and sales clerks are being replaced with checkout-yourself machines. Before long there won't be anything left for people to do but eat and vegetate.
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8-23-2006 @10:35AM tmhughes said... It all started with the generation before generation X, you know the people who are in their late twenties to mid thirties right now. Before them, there was not cable TV, video games were scarce and not every teenager had a car the day they were legal to drive like they are now. You know what, instead of watching 4 hours of TV a day and playing video games, the youth back then actually did active things. They went to the park, played sports, jumped rope because being inside was no fun. Most didn't have a car (or if they did it was a piece of crap and often broken down) so they walked or rode a bike. It makes me sick when I hear people say that they are getting "lipo dissolve" done. What ever happened to a little diet and exercise? I think that anyone who is getting new health insurance should have to pay considerably more if they are overweight or smoke, PERIOD!! Why should the healthy people have to subsidize the ones who are going to have heart trouble and other health problems in the future? Heart disease is still the number one killer in this country and needs to be taken just as seriously as HIV/AIDS and cancer. The biggest contributors to this is obesity and smoking. One more thing, it ought to be illegal for any type of junk food/soda to be advertised on children's TV stations/schools and vending machines should be taken out of schools. It all starts with forming good habits early. That's the only way to turn this new generation around.
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8-23-2006 @10:35AM aunt pat said... The idea of a sugar tax is stupid. First of all, not everyone who eats sugar is fat, and if you want sugar, no matter how much it's taxed, you'll have it.
Just another group to bash, instead of focusing on real problems. As someone said, everyone knows what's good for you and what's bad for you, it comes down to choice, and what feels good at the moment, like anything else. If we all took the time to figure out why we overeat, smoke too much, take drugs, drink, and solved the problem, what a wonderful world it would be, as the song goes. Just my opinon, it all boils down to stress, and the feel good factor. Overweight people wear their anxiety, drinkers drink it away, and smokers smoke. That's just my opinion, but being overweight and bashing it has become the new "in" thing, like bashing smokers. Why does this bother people all of a sudden? Can't we just live and let live and let people make their own choices without govm't getting into it?
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8-23-2006 @10:38AM heather said... To Seth, obvioulsy you can afford to go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, and sounds to me like you don't have children or a family to support. Which makes it hard to buy that membership to the gym, and I got news for you , as stated before, I do not eat McDonalds, I dont allow my kids to eat it, I don't buy junk food, I am the person who has to buy enough food to stretch from week to week, that means buying hamburger and chicken and box meals to add that meat to, or making a stinkin meatloaf that will last 2 nights. You obviously dont know what it is like to have to make meals to last for a few days, people who think , overweight people must enjoy being overweight have small minds and are usually single self obsorbed folks who know nothing about trying to raise a family on a limited amount of money and can not afford a gym membership, and I have looked all over, there are no places for me to take my family too so we can all enjoy exercise. There are only so many exercieses you can come up with on your own at home. Just be a little more understanding of other people's problems. And if you feel that strongly about everyone exercising , why not open a place where people can bring there families for free , or very low cost. hmmmm?
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8-23-2006 @10:40AM candida said... I dont think it would help if they add any taxes on sugar drinks, it dint help when they added tax on smokes, people still buy them. I happen to be fat and I like being fat, I do not want my last meal to be a salad unless that is what I want. Oh sure I could lose it and do all the surgery stuff, but I will not. Now I am healthy and my doctor does not understand how but my theory is " I refuse to walk away from what I want, wether its food or not. I do not want to be botox barbie, I want to be real. We all must die and if I go early, its just meant to be." So why should I sit and worry, I think they just want everyone to feel bad and have low self esteem, man oh man that will never be me.
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8-23-2006 @10:42AM Derek Erekson said... What is a government's role in society? To help better the lives of the general public. Initiating a tax on sugar would do just that. It's ridiculous that some of you think Barry Popkin, who made this suggestion, would feel there was something to gain for himself in taxing sugar. (Notice he works for a university, not directly for the government)
Obviously, the money the sugar tax raised would go directly to things like healthcare, education and other preventative measures. In a society that eats less of these foods, their would ultimately be lower demand, and the less convenient foods, like fresh fruit, vegetables, etc. would replace the over-processed sugary sodas, burgers and the like.
I do agree that 5 cents per gram in sweet drinks (notice it does not include the table sugar one would add to their coffee at home) seems very steep, since that would result in an increase of more than 2$ per can in some instances.
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8-23-2006 @10:49AM Kristy said... This is getting ridiculous. Taxing sugary foods?! That's not going to help much. Education and good parenting is the key. Parents are a so lazy now days they don't even cook dinner for thier children. They just go to McDonalds and push fat and calories down their childrens throats. And, they let them sit inside and play video games. Futher more, our "genious" president (being sarcastic) has cut costs to pay for after school activites for our children. Things to keep them active and out of trouble. Education is the key to keeping people off of welfare and food stamps and eating healthier. Because we do live in a free country fast food will always be there reguardless if it's taxed more or not. People need to be better educated and trained when they are young to make good choices. Fat equals lazy to me. I don't buy the mental sickness or eating disorder excuses. Fat equals no self control!
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8-23-2006 @10:49AM Robin said... Are you people crazy? Not one of you have touched on the fact that genetics play a part in obesity. I'm overweight yes, but so is my mother, and so were both of my grandmothers. I also have photos of my greatgrandparents and three of my greatgrandmothers were overweight. Soda wasn't a biggie back then so what are you going to blame? Just because a person is overweight doesn't mean they eat like a pig. For your information I eat three small meals a day and drink stictly water, no soda at all. My problem is that I suffer from fibromyagia which makes exercising hard. This condition also causes fatigue which also impedes exercising. What about individuals who are like me? People don't all come in the same shape and size, we don't all have blond hair and blue eyes Hitler. If you allow overweight people to be targeted like this whose next? I agree obesity is a problem, but discrimination is NOT the answer.
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8-23-2006 @10:50AM Liz B. said... 5 cent per gram of sugar tax?? What if every American made even a 5 cent daily contribution to the many community/global sponsored food banks? Question: how much do you spend on one fast food lunch or for a cafe latte? It's not just about the thousands we spend to feed our enormous waistlines (or to liposuction them away),it's about people not caring about themselves or others. Land of the free, home of the brave? Maybe...maybe not.
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8-23-2006 @10:51AM Shannon said... I don't think obesity always has an "underlying physical or psycological reason behind the eating disorder". I am 5'1" and I weigh almost 300 pounds. I am not depressed. I don't eat in secreat. I don't eat constantly. I am a vegan. I have a great life & I feel great. All of my medical test show I am in perfect health. I agree a tax an unhealthy food would be great. Don't assume it will stop obesity. I am obeses because I don't exercise & I eat too much at a sitting. Knowing that doesn't make my thin. It is a process that the government can not do for me. Personal discipline. Not Government control.
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8-23-2006 @10:51AM Jenny said... I don't think there should be a sugar tax...whats next a tax for wiping our behinds? Educate people an make the healthier food more affordable. I know this is a small world but not everyone is a size 4 an everyone is not the same not matter the size.
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8-23-2006 @10:51AM Tom Meyer said... It's easy to say that the government should let people make their own decisions, but the fact of the matter is that what we eat eventually affects all of us. The more obese people in the country, the higher health care costs will rise, which eventually costs everyone more. If it makes sense to tax cigarettes in an effort to curb smoking(and the evidence seems to be that it has had an effect), does it not also make sense to tax other things(such as sugar) that are also detrimental to one's health?
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