Would It Be Economically Beneficial to Britain to Introduce An Obesity Tax?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Would It Be Economically Beneficial to Britain to Introduce An Obesity Tax?

Although obesity is a worldwide phenomenon in the 21st century, its impact varies between countries. Across the Channel in France less than one person in ten is obese, while in Japan it's less than one in twenty (see Figure 1 below). In England, at present 1 in 4 of all Britons have been declared medically obese - with obesity rates for both men and women surging in recent years (see Figure 2 below). It has recently been predicted by several tabloid newspapers and the BBC that - "Britain is an Obesity Time bomb"- 30th August 2009 (Sunday Express) with "Half of Britons Obese by 2050"-17th October 2007 (Daily Mail). However in this piece of coursework I intend to look at what has caused the rise in obesity over the last 50 years and whether an 'Obesity Tax' is a viable option.

Ali Muriel - Taxing the Fat - 2005 - www.ifs.org.uk

The Cause

So why are the obesity rates in the UK rising at such an alarming rate? Many factors have been blamed such as the press, fast food outlets, TV's and a lack