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It is not surprising that the United States is suffering from an obesity epidemic.  With fast food restaurants on every corner, and cola advertisements taking over our televisions, what else could we expect?

The reality is that our obesity problem is costing our government billions of dollars each year in health care.  In return, would it be fair for our government to tax unhealthy foods?

With two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, perhaps it’s time our government stepped in.

Recently published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, a study suggested that taxing could be used to help fight obesity, which costs the United States 147 billion dollars each year.

The study estimated that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda could potentially decrease the average American adults’ calorie intake enough to lower their weight by 5 pounds per year.

Previous studies have suggested that if every American lost 5 pounds, heart disease deaths would decrease significantly, the number of people suffering from diabetes would decrease significantly, and the government could potentially cut annual health care costs in half.

“While such policies will not solve the obesity epidemic in its entirety and may face considerable opposition from food manufacturers and sellers, they could prove an important strategy to address overconsumption, help reduce energy intake and potentially aid in weight loss and reduced rates of diabetes among U.S. adults,” wrote Kiyah Duffey, a researcher from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Duffey’s team analyzed the diets and health of 5,115 young adults aged age 18 to 30 from 1985 to 2006.They compared data on food prices during the same time. Over a 20 year period, a 10 percent increase in cost was linked with a 7 percent decrease in the amount of calories consumed from soda and a 12 percent decrease in calories consumed from pizza.

“Our findings suggest that national, state or local policies should alter the price of less healthful foods and beverages.  Taxing may be one possible mechanism for steering American adults toward a more healthful diet,” Duffey and colleagues wrote.

The State of New York originally spearheaded the movement, while California and Philadelphia have recently introduced legislation to tax soft drinks in an attempt to limit consumption.

In addition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association both support taxes on soft drinks.

 

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100309/hl_nm/us_food_tax_4

Coca Cola and Pepsi Co joined former president Bill Clinton in announcing the results of an initiative they said had reduced the number of soft drink calories in American schools by 88%.

The announcement comes after Michelle Obama increased pressure on the companies by targeting them as one of the many causes of obesity in children.

One in five US children aged six to 19 are estimated to be obese, a condition that frequently leads to related health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.  Conditions that can follow obese children through adulthood.

Since soft drink companies are the biggest targets to preventing obesity in our children, their proactive approach by partnering with Bill Clinton may protect their future earnings as they are expecting a slide in profits as people continue to lead healthier lifestyles.

“It’s a brand new day in America’s schools when it comes to beverages,” said Susan Neely, the head of the American Beverage Association. “Our beverage companies have slashed calories in schools as full calorie soft drinks have been removed. The beverages available to students are now lower-calorie and are served in smaller portions.”

Under the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation, full calorie drinks were removed from shipments to school cafeterias and vending machines.  Low-fat milk, diet soft drinks, flavored waters and teas replaced the sugary drinks.

Coca Cola and Pepsi Co also spent millions of dollars in retrofitting vending machines and repackaging products.

“School is a unique environment where students make food and beverage choices with limited supervision,” said Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association.

In addition to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, there is an increasing urgency to impose a “fat tax” on soft drinks.  New York is in the forefront of the campaign, which the American Beverage Association vigorously opposes.

New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines considers the “fat tax” as an opportunity to help our children. “The dramatic under pricing of sugar sweetened beverages, their widespread availability, and the ceaseless marketing of these products constitute a stumbling block to good health and are a clear and present danger to the future of our children,” Daines said.

 

SOURCE: http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/ushealthobesitychildrendrinkschooltax_20100308220858.html

Adding urgency to Michelle Obama’s initiative to tackle childhood obesity is the release of two new studies published in the medical journal Health Affairs.  The studies indicate that American children are eating three snacks each day on top of three regular meals, a finding that could explain why the childhood obesity rate has risen to more than 16 percent since 2003.

Carmen Piernas and Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina reported that children are snacking so often that they are “moving toward constant eating,” a habit that is putting our children’s health at risk for obesity related diseases.

Piernas and Popkin looked at 31,337 children aged 2 to 18 from four different federal surveys on food and eating.  ”Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children’s daily calories are coming from snacks. The largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks,” they wrote.

“Children have increased their caloric intake by 113 calories per day from 1977 to 2006,” they added. “This raises the question of whether the physiological basis for eating is becoming deregulated, as our children are moving toward constant eating.”

In a second study in the journal, Christina Bethell of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland analyzed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health to find the rate of obesity for children 10 to 17 rose from 14.8 percent in 2003 to 16.4 percent in 2007.

Other studies have shown that obese children are more likely to stay obese as adults, and they develop chronic conditions at younger ages, burdening the healthcare system.

Michelle Obama told the School Nutrition Association that “Parents, educators and policymakers all hold responsibility for this childhood obesity epidemic.  Our kids didn’t do this to themselves.  From fast food, to vending machines packed with chips and candy, to a la carte lines, we tempt our kids with all kinds of unhealthy choices every day.  You see kids who are at higher risk of conditions like diabetes, and cancer, and heart disease, conditions that cost billions of dollars a year to treat.”

 

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100302/hl_nm/us_obesity_children_usa