Professor pushes for fat tax

Governments should tax junk food to help people fight the fat, a US nutritionist says.

World Health Organisation figures show there are more than a billion overweight adults worldwide, Prof Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina said.

Make some low-nutrition, high-energy foods such as soft drinks dearer, and subsidise fruit and vegetables, Prof Popkin told ABC radio.



This is a great idea, and I mention something along these lines in this post. Basically I say:

"If both Government legislation and parents contribute to this epidemic it would be quite easy to defeat it.

Government
1- Remove ALL vending machines from schools and shopping centres.
2- Make sporting activities MANDATORY for all children between 5 and 17. 1 hour per week (including dressing and showering etc) at school is not enough. It should be government policy (enforcable by fines) that all kids participate in a weekly sporting activity.
3- No "junk food" advertisments for or by fast food vendors until after 8pm.
4- A ban on "junk food" sponsorship for sporting events (at any level).
5- MASSIVE taxes on takeaway type foods that will undoubtedly get passed on to the consumer.

Parents.
1- Prepare more meals (including school lunches) at home.
2- Eat more at home. The more you "eat out", the more ingredients you don't know what you are eating.
3- Follow the "Zone pyramid" (or similar) as best as you can."

Steve