From Your Health Journal…..”Over the last few months, we have discussed here how New York City has been pushing taxing soda and reducing / limiting the portions served at various establishments. It has received mixed feedback, as some people like it, while others are against it. Some feel the government needs to step in to help its citizens lead a healthier lifestyle, while others feel the government should have no control over what its citizens eat or drink. So, this topic has stirred a lot of controversy over the last few months. The sad truth is, many citizens in the United States and in Britain are overweight or obese, including children. Heart disease is on the rise, as many people suffer from high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Their waist lines continue to grow. They are also increasing their chances of various forms of cancer, weak joints, and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes, but now, many children have it – since there is a strong correlation between type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Over the past month, this blog has discussed many wonderful things they are doing in the UK to help people live healthier lives. So, I was not surprised today when I saw an article by NACS Online (from the UK) called U.K. Health Experts Urge “Fat Tax” For Soft Drinks. We have pointed out how the UK government is stepping in to help its citizens, and especially, its children. With one out of three British children obese or overweight before they leave primary school, an alliance of 61 organizations, including physicians and the Royal Society for Public Health, are urging for the tax to be announced in the spring budget. They maintain the 20-pence-per-liter (31 U.S. cents) tax on bottles and cans of soft drinks would help curb consumption, thus helping reverse the country’s rising obesity rates. Money raised through the tax would be allocated for a Children’s Future Fund, which would be spent on improving children’s health. Please visit the NACS Online web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”

From the article…..

An alliance of 61 organizations is urging the British government to include the tax in the spring budget.

Pointing to figures that reveal Britain is the fattest country in Europe, health experts in Britain have called for a 7-pence (11 U.S. cents) “fat tax” on each can of soft drinks in an attempt to curb childhood obesity, the Daily Mail reports.

With one out of three British children obese or overweight before they leave primary school, an alliance of 61 organizations, including physicians and the Royal Society for Public Health, are urging for the tax to be announced in the spring budget. They maintain the 20-pence-per-liter (31 U.S. cents) tax on bottles and cans of soft drinks would help curb consumption, thus helping reverse the country’s rising obesity rates.

Money raised through the tax would be allocated for a Children’s Future Fund, which would be spent on improving children’s health.

The proposal has the support of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, which is the voice for Britain’s medical profession.

“Just as we use fiscal measures to discourage drinking and smoking and help prevent people from dying early, there is now lots of evidence that the same approach would work for food,” said Dr. Mike Rayner, of the Department of Public Health at Oxford University. “‘This modest proposal goes some way towards making the price of food reflect its true costs to society.”

To read the full story…..Click here