Taxing Obesity

In America, 38% of the population think that a fat tax is in order, with only 15% of those believing that there should be adjustments made for genetics and height (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmaris/2012/04/19/is-a-tax-on-obesity-in-americas-future/). You might call those who desire a fat tax depraved and corrupt - however, it's not only the thin who believe that a fat tax should be a reality. In a nation where 75% are overweight, at least some of those 38% must be overweight themselves. What is particularly surprising is that taxing the overweight is most popular among the rich, those reaching retirement, and those in the South and Midwest. To be sure, it is because they pay the most in taxes but Southerners have the highest obesity rates in the country. Willing to turn against their neighbors, they show that fat is increasingly becoming a growing social and health problem.

However, the tax is unfair, especially when you consider that research has shown that losing weight and keeping it off is nearly impossible. Motivated as they may be, the weight always creeps back. In the study, 50 obese men and women were forced to maintain an extremely low calorie diet for ten weeks. On average, they lost thirty pounds. Over the course of the next year after, they were called by nutritionists who reminded them to exercise and eat right. Nevertheless, they had regained 11 pounds in a year. What was proven was a new study that revealed that those who dieted had remarkably higher "hunger hormones" and inhibited hunger suppressing hormones than those who had never dieted. Though these studies are not conclusive, it adds to the unconventional idea that perhaps obesity is not about constant vigilance. Those who do maintain their weight loss are always aware of food. A common thread was that they had to eat less than the average person and exercise more to maintain their weight loss. Every calorie is accounted for in a notebook. There are no breaks (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all).

The fat may be thin on the inside, if "thin" means "dedicated and motivated to exercise" in the general populace. While the weight may never be gone, that doesn't mean that you can't work on your fitness. Those who were overweight but maintained the basic tenets of fitness experienced a 28% less risk of developing high blood pressure and other such health problems (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/getting-fat-but-staying-fit/?ref=nutrition#). So, perhaps, not all is lost.