A new article published in this month’s edition of The Milbank Quarterly has illuminated how food prices can affect the health and weight of a nation and has suggested that pricing interventions could have a significant impact on obesity levels. The report also showed that societal groups that are most vulnerable – such as the poor, children, adolescents and those already struggling with weight – would show the greatest response to changes in food pricing.
The authors of the report, Lisa Powell and Frank J. Chaloupka of the University of Chicago, examined research published between 1990 and 2008 that related to weight and BMI when combined with taxation and prices. They have suggested that a rise in the price of unhealthy foods, such as sugary snacks and fast food, would result in a lower body weight and reduction in the likelihood of obesity. They concluded that while small taxes on such foods would be unlikely to affect weight outcomes, larger interventions would have a measurable effect.
In the U.K there have already been calls for a ‘chocolate tax’ and levies on foods such as Big Macs. Scotland’s leading cancer specialist Dr. Anna Gregor in May suggested that a 2% tax on fast food could encourage a healthier diet, saying that since it was already known that “cigarette pricing is one of the most useful ways of modifying smoking habits...(she) would be interested to see whether altering Big Mac prices would modify eating habits.” Last week the nutritionist Dr. David Walker claimed chocolate was a major factor in the obesity epidemic and that a tax on chocolate products could make a difference. When put to the vote at the British Medical Association’s meeting, the proposal was narrowly lost by only two votes.
However, a spokesman from the charity Diabetes U.K, which is intimately concerned with the obesity crisis as it is causing diabetes rates to increase sharply, dismissed the idea of a food tax. “We don’t believe a chocolate tax is the right approach”, a spokesperson said, “Education and information are needed to help make the right food choices.”
The idea of taxing fatty food is gaining ground but is likely to meet with strong opposition from food manufacturers such as Cadburys and Coca-Cola, who are already struggling to demonstrate that their products should not be demonised for the current problems. The article’s authors have recommended that further detailed research be done to allow strong policy conclusions to be reached as to the effectiveness of pricing interventions to reduce obesity.