Essay on Public Health Tax on Obesity

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Should We Tax Obesity?

Obesity is a growing epidemic in America which is a medical condition in which excess body fat has built up to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health leading to decreased life expectancy due to disease’s like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and several different types of cancer. Obesity can be instilled in the people a number of ways but it primarily comes down to a person diet, lifestyle, and genetics. This makes obesity close to impossible to eradicate due to the way America is built because work requires minimal physical activity while things like fast food is cheap and easily accessible. (UnitedHealthFoundation)
Recently there have been shocking reports about how obesity is growing at outstanding rates making it so that over 400,000 people in America are dying each year and not only that health problems due to obesity is costing America over 117 Billion dollars yearly. However forcing a tax on people who are obese is both inhumane and a waste of time this tax is not a good decision for people of Massachusetts for three main reasons: The patient’s lifestyle, lack of effectiveness, and said patient’s mental state. (F as in Fat 2012) The first reason why a 50 dollar tax would not help counter the obesity situation is the patient’s lifestyle. Most overweight people in Massachusetts are that way because they grow up in industrial areas where there are fast food restaurants on close to every corner they turn to and whether you’re living in poverty or even middle class buying burgers to feed your family that cost 1 dollar a sandwich is much more time and cost effective than trying to turn to a healthier option by crafting a meal. So paying a yearly 50 dollar fee will not stop people from eating what they enjoy and grew up which is something we may never be able to change.
The second main reason why a 50 dollar tax is ridiculous is its lack of effectiveness. A one time a year 50 dollar tax will do absolutely nothing to change a person’s eating habits. Obesity isn’t only dependent on food so say said guy works double shifts ranging from 9-5 with 3 kids and he gets the notice that he will be taxed for his weight and actually changes his eating habits. This man will not see any results if he does not regularly exercise! So unless this tax can somehow provide people with more time in their day I doubt
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