On Saturday, October 1, Denmark enacted a tax on saturated fats to address the issue of obesity within the country, where 10 percent of adults are obese. MSNBC considers obesity to be a pandemic due to it being a leading cause of diabetes and other life threatening diseases, making the tax a necessity for Denmark.
With the newly implemented fat tax, Denmark is addressing this issue thoroughly and setting a needed example for the rest of the world.
CBS News stated that the fat tax charges $1.31 for each pound of saturated fat in food products. The cost of an average hamburger would rise around 40 cents and a bag of chips would cost about 12 cents extra, according to the Los Angeles Times. This increase in cost would incentivize those who eat unhealthy foods to make the switch to eating food that is better for them.
Though Denmark houses a seemingly large population of obese adults, it is not comparable to that of the United States where 33.8 percent of adults are obese, as recorded by the Centers for Disease Control. This amount is staggering.
Since the United States has over twice the percent of obese adults than Denmark, our government should be doing something similar to what they are. By following Denmark’s example and imposing a tax on saturated fats in the United States, the government would be setting the American populace up for a healthier future in which obesity and diseases linked to it are diminished.
