The report was welcomed by the National Heart Forum...

In the same way that taxes are put on two packets of cigarettes which then go straight to the National Health Service to pay for the extra illnesses that the care due to smoking, the UK government is being advised by health professionals and doctors to put taxes on unhealthy food which cause a great financial burden in extra medical bills for the state.

A report shows that by taxing certain foods in the United Kingdom as many as 3,200 people could be saved from death every year. The taxes would also help lower the amount of people who suffer from heart disease, heart attacks and strokes every year.

The report that appeared in the clinical magazine called the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reckons that if some foodstuffs were made to be more expensive the price impact would mean that the consumption of them would be much lower and therefore would make more healthy foods more attractive. The sort of food that would be targeted would be food that has large amounts of fat and extra salt and sugar in it. The report was welcomed by the National Heart Forum that highlights all research done on the heart and gives advice on ways to keep your heart healthy.

The United Kingdom has one of the biggest obesity problems in the European Union and the government is coming under more pressure to take affirmative action to stop the problem growing out of control. However many people say that this so called “fat tax” is a step too far and impinges on the freedom of individuals to eat whatever they like.

At Ukmedix News following discussions in the newsroom we feel that education and giving people quality information about what they are eating is very important too. Maybe legislation should be introduced to ban certain foods that are very high in fat and which have very unhealthy salt and sugar contents.

The government should also invest in education plans for children that teach them all about healthy eating. Research has shown consistently that children who understand the differences between healthy and unhealthy food are far more likely to be slim. It is also noted that kids who are overweight and obese are probable to stay that way for all of their lives and therefore it is important to help them to develop healthy eating attitudes at a younger age.