Can so-called "obesity taxes" get Americans to stop eating so much bad food?
Maybe. Business Week reports that recent studies show kids weigh more if they live in communities where fruits and vegetables are more expensive. Another study finds that the more alcohol costs, the less American consumers drink it.
With U.S. obesity rates and related health costs sky-rocketing, findings like these are helping push along the kind of government-funded behavioral change campaigns that convinced most Americans to not smoke and buckle their seat belts.
Many states already have taxes on vending machine sweets and sugary sodas. And New York City won a key victory when a federal appeals court upheld regulations requiring many chain restaurants to include calorie information on menus and menu boards. Restaurant owners argued that the city violated their First Amendment rights by forcing them to emphasize calories over other buying decisions like savory goodness. That didn't go down well with the judges.
Even so, local and state governments hoping to influence healthy behavior face many challenges. At the same time time New York City is forcing consumers to be more aware of what they eat, the state is proposing to raise sales taxes.
On health clubs.
. . . . . .
RELATED NEWS
Washington Post | Initiative Takes Aim At Obesity In Children
"A coalition of health groups and insurance companies yesterday unveiled an initiative, billed as the first of its kind, to help battle one of the nation's biggest health problems: childhood obesity.
Officials of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint effort of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, said the initiative is designed to give children better access to health care to fight obesity. Participating insurance companies would pay for at least four visits to a dietitian and four visits to a physician each year to provide guidance to children and their parents on how to eat better and take other steps to reduce and control their weight."
