Junk Food Taxation Policy to Reduce Consumption - Essay Example

The situation of being obese is very serious because it leads to serious diseases, which if care is not taken can be very hard to cure and regulate. At the end of it all, one can die very quickly as a result of the diseases. Therefore, a policy to govern the levels of consumption of junk foods has to be applied to ensure that people feed on nutritious foods.

One of the effective policies that are effective is that junk foods must be taxed to reduce their consumption. Taxation will make foods more expensive than nutritious foods. As such, people opt to purchase nutritious foods, which even if consumed in small quantities, lead to satisfaction. Agreeably, junk foods are cheap to acquire and readily available to consumers (Matz, 2004). This makes it easy for low-income earners to acquire them because they cannot afford to purchase nutritious foods. By having the prices of junk foods very high through taxation, positively, obesity will be addressed and decrease by a high percentage of about 15 percent. However, not only should the food be taxed, but also be highly taxed to ensure that the prices rise. However, this will hinder the low earners from purchasing it but for those who can afford it, they will continue consuming it.

Taxation of junk food will trigger so many factors that will lead to low consumption of calories. When the prices are high, agri-business will be encouraged and there will come up new types of snacks, which contain low levels of calories. As a result of these new snacks, fattening will reduce at a very high considerable rate. This will prevent the consumers from the bad eating habits of consuming lots of calories and sugar. Through taxation, people will be in a position to consume foods that are affordable and contain low amounts of sugar and fats. Since less starchy foods will be affordable to all people including those with low capabilities, their consumption will be high and reasonable because they are healthy (Matz, 2004).

Conclusion
In conclusion, posing taxes by the government on junk food will be an effective measure to control the social problem of obesity. This policy will change the eating habits of many who prefer to consume junk food because their purchasing strength is low. Since the highest percentage of junk food consumers is made up of those who earn low, they will have to change their consumption to other healthy and nutritious food that they will afford (Matz, 2004). Therefore, the policy will be applicable in reducing diseases related to high consumption of lots of quantities of calories, fats, and sugar. Families will be relieved of a load of hospital bills and as a result, the economy will go up. Though many who operate junk food businesses will be affected, there is a need to mind the health of people whether young or old. Adapting new and healthy eating habits is one of the most beneficial things to do because it helps in reducing diseases among people. However, reducing the deadly diseases, which result from the consumption of junk foods, is successful if the consumption of junk food is reduced through taxation. Read More