Comment by Dylan16807
10 hours ago
"Obesity costs the US healthcare system almost $173 billion a year."
So that's about 6% of the difference? I'm not immediately saying no, but it sounds like that's not the real problem.
10 hours ago
"Obesity costs the US healthcare system almost $173 billion a year."
So that's about 6% of the difference? I'm not immediately saying no, but it sounds like that's not the real problem.
That 6% number isn't even close to accurate. There are many other very expensive chronic conditions that are downstream of obesity including type-2 diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, MSK injuries, etc. We are digging our graves with our teeth.
Although I tend to think we overwork the working class such that they have no energy to keep up their health, so this would basically be taxing them because they're poor in many cases.
Except all those things reduce peoples lifespan, and age-related care is by far the most expensive medical care.
Social reasons it would never work. I hate to mention anything race related online but simple truth is America has complicated history and African Americans are 30% more likely to be obese than White Americans and also earn approximately 60% of income that whites earn. A fat tax, especially one that properly allocated the cost burden to the individual, would erode race relations.
Is that controlled for income / poverty levels?
It doesn't matter as the cited numbers will be cherry picked.
fwiw the “tax” in Japan is not paid by the individual, and generally taxing the behavior via e.g sugar taxes rather than the outcome has worked better without much public outcry after the fact
Fat shaming! ... It makes me sad whenever I hear that response to any mention of the health problems associated to obesity.
It’s what all of Asia does and it’s very effective. Make people’s weight their primary problem until they resolve it. It’s not like it is some unchangeable attribute that can’t be fixed through self control and discipline. The shaming is just unsolicited motivation that works. I feel sad if people are made fun of for attributes they can’t change.
If everyone could control their weight via simply willing themselves to have more self-control, then nobody would be fat.
Self-control is, ironically, not usually within one’s self control.
Most people don’t contemplate very deeply about the gap between their will and their behavior. I’m extremely focused on self-determination and it’s absolutely astounding (and irritating) to me how little control I have over my actions relative to the control that circumstances have over me.
Your attitude about the matter is common, and seems like plain old common sense. It’s also dead wrong.
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