With obesity fast becoming a major problem in the UK radical solutions are being proposed. The latest ones that Ukmedix has heard of are the ideas of Fat Taxes. It works like this; if you are overweight you are opening yourself up to more health risks that will eventually put a strain on the National Health Service and so you are costing the country more and so you should pay more in tax. Obesity is a big cause of illness in the UK and almost 25% of people in the UK are defined as clinically obese and 1 in 10 deaths have something to do with obesity.

The other form of Fat Tax (and a more reasonable one) could be like the tax that is put on cigarettes. So unhealthy burgers and chips in fast food restaurants would have an added Fat Tax on the price that would go straight to the NHS. Even unhealthy foods in supermarkets would carry an additional tax and the benefits would be twofold as people would opt for healthy Fat Tax free foods and the NHS would get money if they still wanted to eat fatty foods.

The first Fat Tax is obviously unworkable but the second one has many proponents and could help to stop people and especially children eating large amounts of unhealthy fast food. Burger chains are popular not only because the food is instant and tasty but also because it is so cheap. The poorer sections of society are the people who suffer from obesity the most and they are the people who are found in these fast food restaurants.

Opponents of fat taxes say that they are not fair on food manufacturers and that who would be able to define what was healthy and what wasn't. The problem with fast food is not only the quality of it but also the quantity that you are encouraged to eat. A small burger and fries twice a week is fine to eat, the problems occur when that burger is supersized along with the chips and it is eaten 5 times a week.

Ukmedix feels that education is the way forward. It is important for children to know from an early age what is healthy for them and what isn't. Schools should be giving classes on nutrition and exercise and explaining the dangers of fast food and eating junk. Supermarkets should be encouraged to promote healthy fruits and veg and not allow bright colours on unhealthy food to tempt children.

Taxing food would unfortunately be a financial burden on the poor more than on the rich as poorer people in developed countries have much higher levels of obesity than richer people.