Should Food Containing High Fat and Sugar Be Taxed.

But how do we get to the root cause of the problem?

xmiles wrote:But how do we get to the root cause of the problem?

People have to sort their own lives out.

The root cause of the problem is people having an addiction to food, no different to an alcohol, nicotine or drug addiction.

People use food to ease feelings of depression, anxiety, boredom, etc. Some people think they can just make a transition from eating several high calorie meals a day to nibbling on celery and carrots. Go down that route, and the addiction always prevails.
I used to be big-boned (the Michael Bolton definition), before I realised I was eating way more than I needed to. I still eat nothing but "shit", just less of it.
People don't need to cut fatty, sugary meals out of their lives, they just need to eat them in smaller amounts. Would a tax help to achieve this? I don't imagine it doing so.

Spot on ^.

doffcocker wrote:

xmiles wrote:But how do we get to the root cause of the problem?

People have to sort their own lives out.

The root cause of the problem is people having an addiction to food, no different to an alcohol, nicotine or drug addiction.

People use food to ease feelings of depression, anxiety, boredom, etc. Some people think they can just make a transition from eating several high calorie meals a day to nibbling on celery and carrots. Go down that route, and the addiction always prevails.
I used to be big-boned (the Michael Bolton definition), before I realised I was eating way more than I needed to. I still eat nothing but "shit", just less of it.
People don't need to cut fatty, sugary meals out of their lives, they just need to eat them in smaller amounts. Would a tax help to achieve this? I don't imagine it doing so.

I agree but how do you persuade or force people to sort their lives out?

All the relevant information is available already but it is not having much effect. A tax will at least force poorer people (who are the people most likely to be on an unhealthy diet) to reduce the amount of crap they eat and maybe switch to something healthier.

doffcocker wrote:

People have to sort their own lives out.

The root cause of the problem is people having an addiction to food, no different to an alcohol, nicotine or drug addiction.

People use food to ease feelings of depression, anxiety, boredom, etc. Some people think they can just make a transition from eating several high calorie meals a day to nibbling on celery and carrots. Go down that route, and the addiction always prevails.
I used to be big-boned (the Michael Bolton definition), before I realised I was eating way more than I needed to. I still eat nothing but "shit", just less of it.
People don't need to cut fatty, sugary meals out of their lives, they just need to eat them in smaller amounts. Would a tax help to achieve this? I don't imagine it doing so.

Quality post which gets to the root of the matter. It's down to the individual to sort out his own shit whether it be drugs, booze or food.

And how many of you who advocate a reduction in intake suffer from diseases such as diabetes, or coeliac, where it is the content of the food you have to be aware of, and not the volume. For many people quality not quantity rule is paramount, and lets be honest, nowadays the less in a product, the more you pay, which doesn't help the poorer amongst us, who have to take what's on offer.
We pay a whole army of experts, nutritionists, and dieticians to help people, so why not at least make a concerted attempt to identify and tackle this problem, (which will also include more directed and higher profile user information). I agree its complicated, and the food lobby has a very strong voice, but why accept that as the bottom line, and watch the country's health go down the pan.