Emerging Topics

2012 February 2 -- Disgust at claims sugar as dangerous as alcohol (Commentary)

Signature_empty_original The Australian, February 02, 2012, By Leigh...

Energy Drinks in Canada Brochure

Brochure  Energy Drinks in Canada What are they? Who are they...

Letters to The Editor

2011 July 20 -- Sports, energy drinks shouldn't be confused

Sports_drink_istock_000010757924xlarge       In a recent wire story "How to beat the heat; STAYING SAFE"  Dr. Amber...

2010 November 18 -- National Post - Energy Drinks and Responsible Marketing

Istock_000004661519xsmall In response to the November 18th article "Health Minister takes aim at energy drinks, with...

In the past two decades nutritionists, biologists, and doctors have become increasingly interested in the causes and prevention of obesity. This fascination seems warranted; the incidence of obesity in adults jumped from 13 percent to 34 percent between 1962 and 2008, though it has since leveled off.

Recently, this fervor has spilled over into the political scene as many politicians and some scientists make the case for government intervention to help trim the nation's waistline. This desire has taken the form of proposals for taxes on fast food, salt, and vending machines, as well as outright bans on specific substances like trans fats. Some of these measures have been successful, while others have failed.

This report reviews some of the common arguments for and against the unequal taxation of different food items with the aim of curbing obesity. As a part of the analysis, we present an in-depth, up-to-date look at the progress of this type of legislation at the state and federal level, and offer suggestions for better ways to fight the obesity problem while avoiding the myriad problems that arise from attempts to do so through the tax code.

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Media for 2011 December 7 -- Overreaching on Obesity: Governments Consider New Taxes on Soda and Candy