According to a study, taxing soft drinks (and other sugar-based
beverages) can help to reduce the incidence of obesity -
simply by deterring people from buying them. <
Beverages sweetened with sugar are
believed to be the biggest cause of obesity> Of course, the reason why these taxes have been proposed in the first place is that obesity is believed to cause a number of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiac disease.
But this study has been called (scientifically) flawed on four grounds:
1.. The link between obesity and sweetened beverages has yet to be established.
2.. There is no evidence that such taxes will change consumer behaviour.
3.. Consuming sugar beverages does not (neccessarily) reduce food intake.
4.. Soft drinks alone do not cause obesity, all junk food contributes to it.
While there is no doubt some truth to these arguments - individually or collectively - it has become very difficult to determine if they are motivated or not; as the institution that has advanced them is itself funded by the food and beverage industry!! Underlying all these arguments and counter-arguments is the debate whether junk food constitutes entertainment or nutrition?
Diet, physical activity and health are closely inter-linked issues. It would thus be preferable to draw up a policy covering all the three areas, instead of dealing with them individually. And the best place to begin would be children of a school going age. It has been (often) suggested that fast food and soft drinks should be banned from school canteens - but this is easier said than done! Meanwhile, teenage obesity is rapidly rising, especially in urban areas...
In India, the issue is further complicated because the issue is not limited to junk food and soft drinks alone. India has its own variety of junk food (such as samosas, bread pakoras and chole bhature), and in many areas this forms part of the comman man's diet. It would not be socially acceptable to either ban or tax these food products... In other words, when we refer to junk food, we really mean western foods such as burgers and pizzas!?