Why We Need The Fat Tax
As cited from the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention web site:
During the past 20 years, obesity among adults has risen significantly in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older—over 60 million people—are obese.
This increase is not limited to adults. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens aged 6–19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million young people) are considered overweight.
These increasing rates raise concern because of their implications for Americans’ health. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:
- Hypertension
- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
Although one of the national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15%, current data indicate that the situation is worsening rather than improving.
Increased Fatties = Economic Consequences
Again, cited from the CDC web site:
Overweight and obesity and their associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system (USDHHS, 2001). Medical costs associated with overweight and obesity may involve direct and indirect costs (Wolf and Colditz, 1998; Wolf, 1998). Direct medical costs may include preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to obesity. Indirect costs relate to morbidity and mortality costs. Morbidity costs are defined as the value of income lost from decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, and bed days. Mortality costs are the value of future income lost by premature death.
National Estimated Cost of Obesity
According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight (BMI 25–29.9) and obesity (BMI greater than 30), medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion in 2002 dollars) (Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang, 2003). Approximately half of these costs were paid by Medicaid and Medicare.
Plain English Translation
Thanks to fatties like this:
...and this:
...and this:
...all Americans (even those not classified as overweight or obese) must share the burden of higher healthcare costs, higher insurance premiums, higher taxes, higher costs of goods, and lost productivity.
Let's Face It - Voluntary Weight Loss DOES NOT WORK
A look of despair overcomes Justin's face as he gives up on his exercise routine and looks for his bra.
How many times have you or someone you know made a New Years Resolution to lose weight, get fit, eat right, etc? Chances are you'd need 3 sets of hands and feet to count the number of times.
We're guessing you probably make the same resolution every year. You might even buy the membership to the gym and go...for the first week. Or maybe you're the type that would be too embarrassed to go to the gym so you opted to buy the stationary bike, BowFlex, StairMaster or other over-priced exercise equipment that is now folded up and collecting dust in the corner of a room. Are we right?
The government can come up with whatever weight loss/get healthy program they want to waste tax payers money but the fact of the matter is that laziness is an inherent part of the American human condition. Until a program becomes mandatory, America can expect to continue facing the negative effects of the obesity epidemic.
The Fat Tax addresses the deficiencies of government sponsored weight loss/get healthy programs and years of broken New Years Resolutions. Find out more here.