"Fat Tax", Are You For or Against?

[tj119]

Hey i have an idea lets make what a tiny group of people think is unhealthy foods cost 10x more so that fat people will be poor as well, instead of addressing the real issue, hey if they are poor they will not be eating as much, MALNUTRITION is just as bad as obesity.

What SHOULD be done? We should be TEACHING these obese people to EAT RIGHT instead of eating that McDonalds burger everyday or box of doughnuts or wtf ever...

Ignorance is the main issue here.. not obesity..

P.S. Pizza is IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM a vegetable........

If you're not smart enogh to know that eating McDonalds every day or a box of doughnuts every day is unhealthy and is likely to make you fat, then there is no hope for you. That's more a lack of self control than anything.

[zackattack]

The government can stay out of my life. If I want to eat something it's my choice they do not have the right to punish someone. Government control is a horrible thing. Like someone said never give up freedoms

[coldfiredragon]

How old are you? I'm 24 now

36 will be 37 in June

[Wolfshark]

indeed, the problem lies with education. why not teach about nutrition and stuff in school? teach people how to make some basic, cheap and healthy meals. and the importance of a good diet and keeping fit.

Health classes are mandatory in the part of the US im in from middle school through high-school

but maybe 5% of the classes are about diet.

[vaajtswv]

I'm against, because there are people who have low metabolism who can't help be be fat.

[nixcookies]

I'm against it, I don't think the government should punish people with a tax just because of their eating habits.

Unhealthier foods are more convenient, are a lot cheaper and taste great, and I'm not sure if people are aware of this but a lot of the worlds economies remain stagnant, house hold budgets are being squeezed to it's utmost you honestly think people can afford to be paying more for their food?

[Majik8ball]

So what about the people who aren't "fatties"? Why should they have to pay extra because other people don't know how to eat a balanced diet or get enough exercise?

Either way, healthy people get screwed...

[Providence]

36 will be 37 in June

ah then that would explain it. from what i understand, food standards during the 80's and before then were abhorrent at best. in fact the 90's really wasnt a great deal better.

[Deleted]

i am against it

[RickJamesLich]

I am all for this, I see people posting that this is like losing your freedom - it's not, you could still eat unhealthy food lol... in fact with the low price of unhealthy food, there's a good chance you wouldn't really be hurting your pockets much. To be honest, America needs something like this too, obesity is out of control and only going to get worse. Weight loss education often doesn't work, weight is a sensitive subject and many obese people label this type of education as prejudice.

[thunderdragon2]

i find it hard to agree with really, i would like to say yes, but we pay enough taxes in the UK, i dont think people want to pay anymore :P

highly agreed as i live in the uk pppl dont want anymore if the co-olition implement this i see it going baddly as the goverment cant seem to do anything right atm

[Deleted]

Health classes are mandatory in the part of the US im in from middle school through high-school

but maybe 5% of the classes are about diet.

the school i went to in the UK didnt have health classes at all :\ we had cooking lessons, but it didnt teach about nutrition or diet, just how to cook some meals, and 90% of the lessons drawing and writing about the meals :\ would be nice if they spent some time talking about diets in it, but not in the school i went to :|

[coldfiredragon]

ah then that would explain it. from what i understand, food standards during the 80's and before then were abhorrent at best. in fact the 90's really wasnt a great deal better.

It was, i was in highschool 90 - 93. The only classes about food in any way was some home econ ones but the consulors would dicorage a guy from taking it. Even in there it really did not teach health at all. I was 25, about 60lbs overwight and no idea really how to fix my diet. It took having to find books on it, healthy eating etc.

[Gripple]

I don't think that fat people need to be taxed for simply being overweight. HOWEVER, I do think they should be required to pay for more than 1 airplane seat if they cannot fit within the confines of their own arm rests. It's only when someones obesity is an inconvenience to me do I even notice or care about it.

While its not an exact comparison, when I go to a concert or show I don't EVER stand in the front. Being 6'6 I'm a huge obstacle for people to see over or around (in big crowds). I think its common decency for me to stand kinda further back so others can enjoy their experience, which I gladly do as it harms my experience none.

I think in general fat people feel that if they are ok with their weight that the rest of society should be too, which is perfectly cool. But I also don't believe that the majority of fat people recognize when their weight has become a burden on those around them. Unlike us tall people.

[Deleted]

Completely against it. I wouldn't personally be affected since I'm a vegetarian but I'm always against control, less liberty and that sort of thing. As long as people aren't hurting anyone but themselves, government should stay out of it. It's especially bad if they're trying to fill their wallets by it. If they are so concerned about public health, why not pay a percentage of healthy food instead like they do with electric cars in some countries.

[nixcookies]

the school i went to in the UK didnt have health classes at all :\ we had cooking lessons, but it didnt teach about nutrition or diet, just how to cook some meals, and 90% of the lessons drawing and writing about the meals :\ would be nice if they spent some time talking about diets in it, but not in the school i went to :|

I'm also from the UK and we had health class taught to us. All about diet and exercise, but it honestly didn't help. If people don't want to eat healthily or exercise then they're not going to.

[Eldar45]

Against. Let people live how they want to, not how you want them to.
This is essentially the same thing as putting extremely high taxes on ammunition, so that you can control guns in a way.

[Deleted]

I'm also from the UK and we had health class taught to us. All about diet and exercise, but it honestly didn't help. If people don't want to eat lethality or exercise then they're not going to.

i think it might actually stem more from their home, nearly every overweight person i know who eats a lot of fast food, their parents are very similar, so yeah maybe teaching it in schools wont help :\

---------- Post added 2012-02-04 at 11:51 PM ----------

Against. Let people live how they want to, not how you want them to.
This is essentially the same thing as putting extremely high taxes on ammunition, so that you can control guns in a way.

isn't that the same way they tax alcohol and cigarettes though?

[slowside]

I think the government should tax high fat / sugar food with low nutritional value... They should also use the revenue to subsidize production of healthy food... Eating healthy cost so much more that it's ridiculous... I tried eating nothing but fresh produce and lean meat for a month and it tripled my grocery bill, I can't afford it no matter how much I want.

[Providence]

i think it might actually stem more from their home, nearly every overweight person i know who eats a lot of fast food, their parents are very similar, so yeah maybe teaching it in schools wont help :\

they can exercise? you'd be amazed at how much wonders at least a moderate amount of exercise can do. you wont be super toned but you really wont be anywhere near obese even if you eat garbage.