Obesity in America Essay Example
In the U.S. alone, obesity alone is responsible for an estimated 300,000 deaths a year. This problem is unquestionably due to the immense amount of junk food consumed in the United States. Junk food consumption is so widespread in the nation; it is literally the staple food in most school cafeterias if not all! Studies have also shown that in the United States more than one-third of the U.S. population would consume fast food on any given day (Fryar, Hughes, Herrick, and Ahluwalia). No wonder obesity rates have exceeded 40% in the U.S. With the problem of obesity being ubiquitous throughout the United States people have thought of a solution utilizing taxes, a tax on junk food. Although controversial, a tax on junk food, more specifically sugar content, offers several benefits consisting of a decrease in junk food consumption, an increase in healthier food choices, which ultimately leads to a healthier society, and finally, it raises revenue for other improvements/benefits. These points show that the tax on junk food and sugar content should be considered if not implemented because of how beneficial such a tax could be.
First of all, the main benefit of imposing a sugar tax would be a decrease in junk food consumption. This result is because higher prices can discourage purchases of sugary products (Smith, Scarborough, Rayner, and Briggs). The fact that a sugar tax would decrease junk food consumption is further backed by data and evidence showing how unhealthy food and drink taxes decreased junk food purchases. For example, one study states “The estimated effects on purchases were found to be largest in Philadelphia, where the tax applied to soft drinks containing added sugar and those containing artificial sweeteners (diet soft drinks). The tax led to an increase in prices of around 34% and a reduction in purchases of around 22% (Griffith, O’Connell, and Smith). This supports my claim about how taxing sugary foods can cause a decrease in junk food consumption by showing how taxes will deter people from purchasing products. A former director of the Congressional Budget Office states “Sugar in foods and drinks contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other conditions. By increasing the price of products that contain sugar, taxes can get people to consume less of them and thus improve nutrition and health.” (Marron). This explains how beneficial the tax could be by decreasing junk food consumption and increasing the quality of health of people.
Another reason the tax on sugar content should be implemented is that it leads to healthier food choices due to the reduction in consumption of junk food. An article from EconomicObservatory.com states “Taxing unhealthy foods like sugary drinks make them relatively more expensive, potentially encouraging people to buy healthier alternatives.” (Griffith, O’Connell, and Smith). This shows how a reduction in junk food consumption provides an incentive to eat healthier alternatives because of the increase in the price of junk food. A tax on junk food will also lead fast-food outlets to provide healthier food alternatives that are lower in sugar and fat (Pettinger). This is because the decrease in junk food purchases will provide an incentive for suppliers to either provide healthier alternatives or lower the sugar content and other unhealthy ingredients used to make the product. If they don’t, they will lose out on money due to the higher prices deterring the population from purchasing unhealthy products. This will, in turn, lead to a healthier society as a whole because of the decrease in sugar consumption. This is because sugar has been known to have adverse health effects such as higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and increased risk for heart attack and stroke, all of which can lead to death (HarvardHealth). All of this would also result in lower health costs due to the decrease in deaths caused by obesity.
The final reason for implementing a tax on sugar content and junk food is the revenue it will generate after taking effect. That same revenue can then be used to support poor families, lower healthcare costs, and other benefits. According to a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, “Health care costs would be lower, and people would live healthier longer lives. Governments could put the resulting revenue to good use, perhaps by helping low-income families or cutting other taxes.” (Marron). An economic writer states” Through increasing tax on fatty foods, the government could raise substantial sums of money. They could use this revenue to offset other taxes – such as decreasing the basic rate of VAT. Therefore, a fat tax could be revenue-neutral (no overall increase in tax revenue). Alternatively, the money raised from ‘fat tax’ could be used to spend treating the health costs of obesity.” (Pettinginger). These statements agree with my point in how they show how the government could raise money by implementing the tax and also put the money to good use and offset other taxes. The revenue from a fat tax could also be used to subsidize healthier foods and make it possible for more people to have access to a healthier life (Gaille). This makes it possible for the poorer people to still have access to foods aside from junk food. This shows how a tax on junk food and sugar content could be beneficial through the revenues it generates.
Although there are plethoras of benefits that accompany the sugar and junk food tax there are also a few drawbacks. One such drawback is that the poorer portion of the population will have to pay more for the cheap food that sustained them prior to the tax. This is because people with lower incomes often spend more money on junk food than the average person due to the availability and cheap price of junk food (Pettinger). People think that because of this the fat tax could be detrimental to the lower-income population. This could be true, but the revenue generated from the tax could be used to offset the cost of healthier foods. This means that families with lower income could still manage to acquire food while using around the same money. The World Health Organization states “this tax could generate approximately 13 billion dollars in annual tax revenues in the United States of America in 2016” (WHO). This shows that the tax could generate much revenue that could be used to make healthier foods cheaper or as cheap as junk food was. Another point that people may also suggest is that the tax on junk food would target fats which could include unsaturated fats which are healthy for you, for example, peanut butter or salmon, which are all known to reduce the risk of heart disease and lower blood pressure (Gaille). This could be simply prevented by taxing sugar content, specifically added sugar content and not natural sugar. This is because natural sugar isn’t as unhealthy for you as added sugar (CHEAR). People may also suggest that a junk food tax wouldn’t be effective in reducing junk food consumption. This simply isn’t true and there is data to back it up. One study states “Consumers of unhealthy food products responded to the tax by choosing a cheaper, often healthier product (7 to 16 percent of those surveyed), consumed less of the unhealthy product (5 to 16 percent), changed to another brand of the product (5 to 11 percent) or substituted some other food (often a healthier alternative).” (Belluz). This shows how the junk food tax not only reduced junk food consumption but also made consumers switch to healthier alternatives that may be also cheaper!
Ultimately a tax on junk food and sugar content can effectively tackle one of the biggest problems in the U.S., obesity. With the benefits consisting of decreasing junk food consumption, increasing the quantity of healthier food choices, ultimately leading up to a healthier society, and generating a sweet revenue from the tax for other improvements/benefits, a junk food tax offers several possibilities. With all the possible benefits a tax on junk food and sugar is a great solution to countering obesity and should be implemented since it will help increase the overall wellness and quality of health in Americans.
