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March 11, 2010
Nanny Statists Come After Pizza
Posted by Dave Blount at March 11, 2010 8:31 AM
First cigarettes. Then soda. Next, pizza:
U.S. researchers estimate that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda can push down U.S. adults' calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds (2 kg) per year.
The researchers, writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday, suggested taxing could be used as a weapon in the fight against obesity, which costs the United States an estimated $147 billion a year in health costs.
"While such policies will not solve the obesity epidemic in its entirety and may face considerable opposition from food manufacturers and sellers, they could prove an important strategy to address overconsumption, help reduce energy intake and potentially aid in weight loss and reduced rates of diabetes among U.S. adults," wrote the team led by Kiyah Duffey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Roto-Reuters chirps enthusiastically:
There are early signs that such a policy works.
Duffey's team analyzed the diets and health of 5,115 young adults aged age 18 to 30 from 1985 to 2006.
They compared data on food prices during the same time. Over a 20-year period, a 10 percent increase in cost was linked with a 7 percent decrease in the amount of calories consumed from soda and a 12 percent decrease in calories consumed from pizza.
As an added benefit, reduced sales will help drive up unemployment, pushing the number of people reliant on government handouts toward critical mass.
Of course, our nanny state rulers won't dictate our every mouthful of food by taxes alone. There are also subsidies, by which they force us to pay for foods we don't want and don't eat.
[Duffey et al.] argued that agricultural subsidies should be used to make healthful foods such as locally grown vegetables, fruits and whole grains less expensive.
Or, we could just stop with the tedious incrementalism and have Comrade Obama appoint a Food Czar charged with drawing up the mandatory daily menu for all Americans.
They want to take this away too.
On a tip from Annie.
