The LA Times reports that taxes on unhealthy foods may be on the horizon, put in place to combat obesity, obesity-related co-morbidities, and to pay for universal health care. The report cites a study released that looks at obesity policies gained from the tobacco war experiences.
Taxing fatty foods is a pretty narrow policy and does little to adequately combat obesity, which is, in this fat boy's mind, a serious problem of epidemic proportions. Projections state that our life expectancy is going down.
A comprehensive plan should include:
Taxing fatty foods is a pretty narrow policy and does little to adequately combat obesity, which is, in this fat boy's mind, a serious problem of epidemic proportions. Projections state that our life expectancy is going down.
A comprehensive plan should include:
- Insurance-covered, physician-monitored weight loss programs paid for by insurance.
- Insurance-covered mental health services to deal with overeating issues.
- Seeing overeating as an addiction and treating it as such.
- Weight loss surgery approved after physician-monitored weight loss programs become inadequate.
- Making healthy food affordable.
Putting the fork down is not enough. Many people do not understand that overeating is an addiction and is a very powerful one. Talking with a professional counselor specializing in food addiction makes a significant difference. It did with me and the techniques for combating overeating are amazingly simple. It's not a head shrink or delve-into-your-past kind of counseling session, by the way.
Taxing sodas, Ding Dongs, Ho-Hos, McGarbage, Taco Death, and other fast food restaurants would also help. I'm okay with that. We shouldn't make it easy for big companies to hook people on addictive foods and keep them addicted. If you have ever bought only healthy food, you know what your food bill looks like. It's high. I know because I buy a lot of produce, organic foods, and no sugar foods.
I also stopped drinking soda, which was an easy fix for me, but it is not easy for everyone. Caffeine is also addictive. For many folks, not drinking soda can make a significant weight loss change. I only drank diet and not much of that, but I've quit diet, too. Plain iced tea, water and skim milk make up the bulk of my liquids. I also exercise 30-40 minutes three times a week.
It would also be nice if the corn industry did not promote high fructose corn syrup as a healthy food source. Judas Priest!