‘Fat tax’ call for high-fat foods
Plans for a ‘fat tax’ have been suggested to help in the fight against obesity.
It is believed consumption of high-fat foods would fall by 38% if a tax was placed on fatty foods like butter and cheese.
The research, unveiled at the Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN) Annual Conference, suggested a tax of 1% be placed on every percent of saturated fats that foods contain.
Findings from Professor Richard Tiffin’s research project, ‘Models of Nutrient Demand, Tax Policy and Public Health Impact’, proposed that the tax on fatty foods would be balanced out by a ‘thin subsidy’ on fruit and vegetables, making the whole policy revenue neutral.
Results showed that the proposed tax policy would cause the consumption of butter to decrease by 38%, cheese would decrease by 20.24%, and oils and fats would decrease by 15.01%.
It also found that the consumption of fruit and vegetable would increase by 9.2%.
The study was funded by the UK research councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use (Relu) programme.
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