Denmark adopts world's first-ever 'fat tax'

It depends how the tax is implemented. If it is taxed at the Manufacturers hands, some of them will likely downsize the pack size to ensure the added tax allows them to have the same price point at the shelf. Not much impact on many items. The consumers could end up eating less which is not a bad thing.
If it is taxed on the cash register receipt where the consumer sees how much extra tax they will pay for "Fat Tax", like we see with our HST/GST/PST/Hotel Taxes, I am certain it will be an eye opener for consumers that would certainly change some habits out there. Haven't studied all the details yet but it sounds like a viable option for deterrence.

Dumbest idea. Fat does not make you fat. sugar and starch does. Tax the fat people not everyone. why should I pay more because the next door neighbour eats too much. Get the government out of my life and leave me alone.

Charge fat people for taking up too much space on the bus, trian , plane. Why do I pay for excess baggage when the guy /gal in the next seat puts his/her excess on for free

I think that it is a horrible idea. I read that all of those "fat" items were being taxed, but for what? If you are going to tax the fat, where is the offsetting low fat tax exemption? If the concept is to truly encourage people to buy lower fat items, then you cannot just punish the fat but you must also encourage the low fat.
So for example. if you buy a cake, you pay the fat tax, but if you buy fruit, you pay no tax.
Don't forget high sodium and sugar items too.

Leave me out of this. I like by butter (won't go near margarine garbage) my fresh eggs, full cream yogurt, glass of wine etc Oh yes bacon and two eggs for breakfast are no problem. Porrage now and then when I feel like it. I won't go near all those carbs in the boxes of cerials witheir empty calories. don't drink pop either.
in case to wonder I am 68 and my BP is 120/80. My other tests are all inside standard range. Oh yes and I exercise and coach boxing. maybe that helps.
The only fat to tax is the stuff hanging over the belt.

We need less regulation, not more.

We need fewer taxes. Not more.

We need responsible government, not lecturing nannies.

The public must accept responsibility for it's own actions instead of allowing the government to trample our individual rights and freedoms:

Consaider the following:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Stay out of my wallet.

ONLY BRAIN DEAD PEOPLE COMES UP WITH THIS IDEA. SO WHAT IS IT NOW. STARVES OUR KIDS AND SO WE CAN SAVE MONEY. WHY DONT YOU JUST CUT MY ARMS AND LEG OFF. THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE MONEY AND DEBTS IS TO GET RID OF OUR POLITICIAN AND ALL GOVERMENT EMPLOYEE. THAT IS THE WORST CASE SENERIO. CUT BACK ON GOVERNMENT WORKERS. THEY ARE THE ONE THAT DRAIN ALL THE HARD TAX MONEY. THE SIMPLIEST SOLUTION AND YET STUPID GOVERMENT COMES UP WITH THIS IDEA. ONLY CAVE MEN COMES UP WITH THIS IDEA. TOTALLY BRAIN DEAD.

How do they expect low income families to survive these days? It's already very expensive to buy "healthy" foods or 'low fat' foods. Fruits and vegetables cost a fortune. Low income families or single parent families have to find cheaper ways to feed their families which is why they tend to buy the fattier foods such as frozen or canned foods.
Being married and having two incomes, I find it hard to mange groceries with packing healthy lunches let alone 1 single income.
Who comes up with these ideas?? Why not take more tax off the rich people who have nothing better to spend their money on than cars that cost the same as our houses. I'm sure they can afford more taxes!!!

WHAT NEXT? Denmark is one of the highest taxed places in the world so now they have to figure out a way to get more taxes to support their socialistic society. Do you think that fat people want to be fat? Do I have to pay the price because I like "butter". Margarine is plastic....butter is a natural product and has been used for ever. I'm not fat and never have been because I don't eat like a pig.....portion control. Do these people in parliament have nothing better to do but come up with new taxes and bylaws? Are you aware of how many new laws and regulations have been introduced in the last 20 years? You can't put your foot out the door without breaking some law. You can't drive without always watching your back. Slowly but surely we are losing our rights as citizens. We have" by-law enforcement officers" and now "fat enforcement officers"? Why do you have to punish fat people....they suffer enough with ridicule and health issues.....can't smoke, can't drink, can't eat, can't,can't,can't etc......the fat cats in parliament do all of the above but we can't.

Hmmm another idea for a new tax-grab, maybe they can give the money to another consultant as well to see if the new tax is making a difference.
Seems the entire idea of taxing people to encorage 'healthy choices' is a one sided approach. there is no tax break for being a healthy weight. Maybe we can vote in an intellegence test requirement for our government employees (including all levels) and pay them according to their IQ's.

Imagine the tax savings then.

Who ever said fat doesnt make fat needs a biology lesson. Yes starchs and sugar do make fat but the extra calories turn to fat. Fat is already fat..DUUUUUH .. For people to say the health food is so expensive is a myth. Go look at a cheap alternative and look at the nutritional value for your buck you get. If you eat the fruits, veggies, and nuts and grains it is way cheaper than the meats, pops, and cheap junk food that you need to eat so much more of just to get close to the nutritional value of the good foods mentioned above. People should educate themselves before they open their mouth.

I agree with JR food is already too expensive. You can't raise the taxes on fat foods without lowering it on healthy ones.

As for people saying tax the fat people. What is your definition of fat? According to the body mass index at 5'4" and 170 pounds I am not considered fat I'm obese. Never mind that I'm only a size 8. And it isn't like I have a tiny waist and a huge butt either, I'm porportionate. I don't know in what reality a size 8 is consdered obese, but the BMI is a crock. In the 80s super models were size 6 and 8, now a size 10 is a plus size. You have to be a super model, to just barely make it out of the plus stores. Our obsession with weight is taking us to a really scary place.

If they are taxing fat foods to discourage people from buying them because they are worried about the health costs of obesity, perhaps they should consider the costs of eating disorders. Psychologists charge $75 an hour to treat this. If a young girl becomes anorexic her brain and body can't properly develope leading to a multitude of health problems. Also, your brain is 70% fat. If your body has burned all it's fat supplies, it will start eating the fat in the brain, causing brain damage (this can also happen to body builders, that is why Stalone speaks like he's had a stroke). It can cause major damage to every organ, and cause ostioperosis. Wonder what those health bills look like. And of course it can also be fatal.

Yes, obesity is bad, but we have to be realistic about what is obese. Up intil recently a size 10 to 12 was average. It's not like all the women throughout the ages were obese up until the past 20 years. Going to extremes and telling a young girl she's obese when she's a healthy weight only creates heath problems from the other end of the spectrum. Being 90 pounds is just as bad as being 500.

JR- The rich who have nothing better to do than buy cars eh?
How about the fact that I came from a well-fare single parent family and have worked my but off for the last 35 years. If you want to sit back and work your 40 hour weeks, then fine. But there is no way you can judge those of us who have earned every penny, have 100 hour weeks to get where we are today. I am more than happy to pay my 75% tax to all forms of government. And probably a good deal of that will support you one day when you end up in hospital. Where do you think all the socialized programs you take for granted would go if all of us 'rich people' got up and left the country???
I think I'm entitled to keep 25% of what I make at a bare minimum. I have a family too you know.
Think before you speak.

Bring on the fat tax. Its about time. Exercise is shown to stimulate brain activity. So we are ensuring in a healthier Canada with a step away from saturated fats and a step towards the natural.

All these taxes are created in the name of 'care' but are actually nothing more then a money grab. How much someone eats is their business not the governments. Just dont let Mcguilty hear this or it will be coming to theathers near you, shortly

Interesting points by some people. The concept of "healthy weight" particularly.
My question is on the perpetual increase in sizing of womens (maybe mens too?) clothes.

Whatever size was medically healthy 30 years ago is probably similar today. The difference seems to be that a "size 8" today is 30 pounds bigger than a "size 8" years back. I actually watched a documentary that compared real clothes from 20-30 years ago to those of today that were the same size according to the tag but HUGELY different in actual dimensions.

Fat people, you are fooling yourselves or at least participating in the fantasy that you are healthy or worse yet equating average with healthy. Overweight is overweight.

I also agree with the posting about overweight people on planes etc.

My wife is 120 pounds but has to pay extra to take a second bag on the plane, only to spend the flight with 3/4 of a seat because the fat person next to her brought along an extra 60 70 80 pounds, for free.......... that is taking HER space!

I drink wine. I also pay an exorbinant tax in order to do so. This is ostensibly to offset the costs incurred by society by my potential for medical needs. The burger and fries munching bohemoth sitting next to me or my wife on the plane pays sweet F all............ but has high blood pressure, heart attacks, etc etc ........

It all come down to a basic premise that in the western world is anethema to many. Take responsibility for your choices..............

I pay to be fit. I pay gym memberships. I pay for athletic gear. I pay for healthy food.

Want to be fat? Np, pay for 2 seats on the plane/bus/subway, pay your own medical costs, pay for someone to replace you at work while you are sick and stop demanding that the world be amended to fit your big fat oversized gut into a restaurant booth.

Have a nice day all...............

Bad idea. As greatly mentioned, fatty foods don't necisarily make you fat. A mix of poor diet and no exercising make you over weight. This is just an excuse for the government to get more tax, which I have no idea where it is all going anyways. In public schools you now have to pay to enroll, I am currently being kicked out of one of my classes at highschool, because we can't afford to pay. Where is the government spending the tax supposed to be going to education? My doctor can't do as many tests as before, because the tax isn't being put into health care anymore. Yes our nations debt has to be payed off, but I know some of it is being wasted. Back to point on taxing fatty foods, dont tax people who eat, tax that giant corporations, stop giving them tax breaks and then making the middle and lower classes have to make up for what the corporations aren't paying.

It continues to astonish me how many blindly partisan and biased perspectives there are out there...I'm assuming most of you that are telling the government to stay out of their pockets for something such as lifestyle choices are also reaping the benefits of socialized medicine. If we are all paying into the system, why should some people have the luxury of abusing it by not taking care of themselves? Smoking tax in a socialized society is a no brainer, how about not wearing seatbelts or bike helmets...no brainer. The only issue here is that we know so little about how personalized genomics influences ones ability to cope with various foods that categorically taxing a food group on a population level may not reach the intended goals and targets of its implementation.

For those of casting Denmark as a lazy socialized state that can only raise taxes to cover their budgets at the expense of the populace is hilarious. Denmark enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world, one of the highest avg national salary of any country in the world, the best social programs...all while not solving their problems by pillaging a natural resource, they have accomplished this through stable economic growth.

Economics in the end is really just about determining a system to distrubute wealth efficiently. For those of you bantering mindlessly about big government and no regulation whatsoever, you have to understand that this is shortsighted. A government cannot stick steadfastly to one philosophy or another as different solutions and tinkering is required for different situations. Greece needs to privatize a large majority of their workforce and amend their constitution so that government jobs are not guaranteed. The United States needs to restructure and rebalance their government because their middle class has disappeared...and for those of you that think this is because they are lazy, or useless, or dumb and that its wonderful for the upper class to have had the opportunity to succeed...think abou this: If the middle class (the overwhelming majority of the populace) is cash strapped and unable to spend, where does the growth come from? Who is buying the American cars to grow their earnings? Who is buying houses, renovating etc.? Who is consuming gas? Who is paying taxes on all of their purchases and incomes? In the end, a successful economy is one that keeps moving so that earnings grow, money is created through debt to replenish the system, people are able to pay down their debt and overall GDP chugs forward. If nobody is left to keep moving the economy, where does the growth come from?

I also wanted to say, some people have posted that the fat tax will make people become more healthy, but in reality less than 1% of people will see this and think "oh I better get into shape". And yes, I do like to eat butter (in and on foods, not by itself), I like bacon and eggs, but I do eat fruits and vegetables, real meats, etc etc. I am a very healthy teenager, don't tax me for mistakes of others. Instead you should literally only tax/charge people who need it. The airplane example, if a normal wieght person has to pay to take on an extra bag weighing only 20 pounds, an overweight person wieghing 80 pounds more, should also have to pay... its only fair. Either charge everybody the same, or dont charge anybody at all (for the airplane, the tax shouldn't even been introduced).

I think a lot of the comments on here are very interesting. No matter what the government does in any country, some people will agree and some will disagree. I agree with the premise behind what Denmark is doing, however, I think that they are going about it the wrong way - exactly what people are saying above - healthy foods need no tax if you are doing to tax the unhealthy. It really doesn't hit home the way they are doing it- people will still by the unhealthy food, just like no matter what price cigarettes get to, people will still smoke. Somehow you find the money.

In my opinion, which is not the most politically knowledgable I will admit, I think that if a tax is to be implemented, it should be dealt with at tax time. For instance, a "fat-tax" in my eyes should be that people who are considered morbidly obese should pay an additional tax. I'm not sure how it would be done - perhaps in a yearly physical you would have to submit your BMI or doctor's chart notes to prove your fitness level. It sounds somewhat unreasonable though considering some people can't get into see doctor's these days. Perhaps maybe those that are inclined can submit their fitness levels and get a tax credit based on whether or not you are considered a healthy weight/fit. I have heard of some businesses doing this - your bonus is higher at the end of a year or some of your salary increase depends on whether you use the companies fitness facilities.

Just my two cents, but I have always thought that something along these lines would push people a little harder to want to earn extra money, or have a bigger tax return, etc. It would help people keep more money in their pockets, and perhaps in the long run keep our health care system a little less bogged down.

One thing - it is nice to see anyone standing up and really thinking outside the box on how to get our nation back to healthy. Not sure something like this in Denmarl will really resonate though.

Cheers.

LM is fooling herself along with many others. 5'4 and 170lbs is fat - almost obese. Sizes have changed over the years like another mentioned. I heard it explained as a measure of vanity - as our waist size creeps up our clothing size in number (not dimension) creeps down to make us feel better. What is now a size 8 was likely a size 10 only about 20 years ago. I'm male at 5'9 and weigh 178lbs. I do agree that BMI alone as an indicator is not appropriate as my BMI shows me as slightly overweight. I do not have a 6 pack but I do work out and have more than avg muscle. BMI doesn't reflect that.