Junk food taxes not the answer for childhood obesity: Report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDOct 25 2010

A Productivity Commission report, “Childhood Obesity: an Economic Perspective”, released this Monday said that junk food taxes were not a cure for childhood obesity. It read, “Bans or taxes on particular energy-dense nutrient-poor foods, for example, face design difficulties, affect all consumers regardless of their weight status, and in the case of taxes, can have perverse budgetary and health effects particularly for the neediest groups.”

The report elaborated that there was little evidence that snack food ads made children fatter. “The evidence suggests that the link between television viewing and childhood obesity is, at most, small,” it read. On the other hand seemingly “softer options” like educational campaigns were more effective said the paper. Their report assesses 27 child and student-focused anti-obesity programs whose aims include promoting exercise, improving diet and cutting time spent in front of television and computer screens.

At present estimated 8 per cent of Australian children are considered obese, while 17 per cent are overweight. This report followed the call by public health experts to put tobacco style taxes on junk foods. Monash University's Holly Bond said obesity had overtaken smoking as the leading cause of illness and premature death, and should be similarly taxed. She had said, “We propose that a tax on junk food be implemented as a tool to reduce consumption and address the obesity epidemic.”

However there was scepticism. Australian Food and Grocery Council chief executive Kate Carnell pointed out, “A number of states in the US have put taxes on soft drink and so on, and obesity levels are exactly the same as everywhere else.” Consumer behaviour expert Paul Harrison, from Deakin University, said taxes could bring down junk food consumption if they were big enough. Jane Martin, a spokeswoman for the Obesity Policy Coalition, said the paper's conclusions were in contrast to the evidence-based recommendations by the government-appointed Preventative Health Taskforce.