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News & Views
Obesity: Government Advice Makes You Fat and Poor
Date: 11/10/11
Keywords: Alternative medicine, Cholesterol, Diabetes, Diabetes Type 2, Heart Disease, High Cholesterol, Obesity, Nutrition
The UK government is considering a 'fat tax' similar to one recently introduced in Denmark, where a surcharge is being placed on foods that contain more than 2.3 per cent saturated fat... all in an effort to promote healthy eating and to stop the obesity epidemic.
If this is not a shining example of how governments and the mainstream are sending out the wrong message, then I don't know what is! Higher tax rates on certain food products are not the answer to combating obesity, diabetes or heart disease... It's a clever and blatantly transparent way of milking more money out of Joe Public's pockets!
I stand amazed... in fact, make that aghast!
Last week, David Cameron, announced that the UK government will consider levying a 'fat tax' or 'sin tax' on high-fat food products like butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed foods in a bid to improve health...
Okay, I get the pizza and the processed foods... but meat and certain types of oil, like olive oil!.. is just down- right ludicrous... It's as hypocritical as Andrew Lansley, the UK's Health Secretary, publicly asking big food manufacturers, back in 2010, to fund a government advertising campaign to persuade people to switch to a healthier lifestyle. In return, Lansley promised that these Franken food manufacturers would not face legislation outlawing excessively fatty, sugary and salty foods!
Excessive bureaucracy
Now, the UK government is considering a 'fat tax' similar to one recently introduced in Denmark, where a surcharge is being placed on foods that contain more than 2.3 per cent saturated fat...
If this is not a shining example of how governments and the mainstream are sending out the wrong message, then I don't know what is! Higher tax rates on certain food products are not the answer to combating obesity, diabetes or heart disease... It's a clever and blatantly transparent way of milking more money out of Joe Public's pockets!
Need we remind the current government that, as a nation, we are already strapped for cash... which is probably one of the reasons why lower-income groups are choosing cheaper and less healthy foods.
Apart from that, if the mainstream (including Cameron!) had an inkling of what really sits behind obesity, diabetes and heart disease then they would change their tune from the old 'saturated fat chestnut' and start focussing on refined sugar (high fructose corn sugar included), refined carbohydrates and high-calorie fast foods, as the real culprits!
In fact, as Dr John Briffa has pointed out time and again in his posts on The Cholesterol Truth, there is no good evidence that saturated fat increases heart disease or the risk of death!
None!
Zero!
Back in 2000, a group of British researchers reviewed 27 individual studies and the results revealed that modification of dietary fat did not lead to a significant reduction in either deaths due to cardiovascular disease or overall risk of death!
Not the only option
Yes, it's a fact: Obesity, diabetes and heart disease are serious health threats that affect many people's lives... but until the right message is sent out, this problem is not going to disappear!
To start with, sugar is a simple carbohydrate and is stored in the body as FAT! Refined carbohydrates turn to sugar during the digestive process and, again, are stored in the body as FAT!
So the right message would be that a diet based on natural and unprocessed foods like meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and nuts is the key to improving your health, in addition to living an active lifestyle and committing to at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Here are a few more tips for those mainstreamers who are missing the point:
Fighting the obesity, diabetes and heart disease crisis is really a no-brainer, if you're holding the right end of the stick.
Sources:
'Why a fat tax will have no effect on obesity levels' published online, 05.10.11, dailymail.co.uk
'Conservative Party Conference 2011: fat tax could be introduced in Britain' published online, 04.10.11, telegraph.co.uk
Hooper L, et al. Dietary intake and prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review. BMJ 2001 322(7289):757-630
Hooper L, et al. Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jul 6;7:CD002137.
'How we eat appears to influence how much we eat' by Dr. Briffa, published online, 19.06.09, drbriffa.com
'Effect of bite size and oral processing time of a semisolid food on satiation' by Zijlstra N, published 10.06.09, Am J Clin Nutr
'Government to beat obesity epidemic by PAYING fat people to lose weight' published online 24.08.10, dailymail.co.uk
'Health advice can't be left to the makers of the Big Mac' published online 12.07.10, dailymail.co.uk
'Junk food mountain: The astonishing amount of rubbish one child eats every year' published online, 12.07.10, dailymail.co.uk
Back to topLast week, David Cameron, announced that the UK government will consider levying a 'fat tax' or 'sin tax' on high-fat food products like butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed foods in a bid to improve health...
Okay, I get the pizza and the processed foods... but meat and certain types of oil, like olive oil!.. is just down- right ludicrous... It's as hypocritical as Andrew Lansley, the UK's Health Secretary, publicly asking big food manufacturers, back in 2010, to fund a government advertising campaign to persuade people to switch to a healthier lifestyle. In return, Lansley promised that these Franken food manufacturers would not face legislation outlawing excessively fatty, sugary and salty foods!
Excessive bureaucracy
Now, the UK government is considering a 'fat tax' similar to one recently introduced in Denmark, where a surcharge is being placed on foods that contain more than 2.3 per cent saturated fat...
If this is not a shining example of how governments and the mainstream are sending out the wrong message, then I don't know what is! Higher tax rates on certain food products are not the answer to combating obesity, diabetes or heart disease... It's a clever and blatantly transparent way of milking more money out of Joe Public's pockets!
Need we remind the current government that, as a nation, we are already strapped for cash... which is probably one of the reasons why lower-income groups are choosing cheaper and less healthy foods.
Apart from that, if the mainstream (including Cameron!) had an inkling of what really sits behind obesity, diabetes and heart disease then they would change their tune from the old 'saturated fat chestnut' and start focussing on refined sugar (high fructose corn sugar included), refined carbohydrates and high-calorie fast foods, as the real culprits!
In fact, as Dr John Briffa has pointed out time and again in his posts on The Cholesterol Truth, there is no good evidence that saturated fat increases heart disease or the risk of death!
None!
Zero!
Back in 2000, a group of British researchers reviewed 27 individual studies and the results revealed that modification of dietary fat did not lead to a significant reduction in either deaths due to cardiovascular disease or overall risk of death!
Not the only option
Yes, it's a fact: Obesity, diabetes and heart disease are serious health threats that affect many people's lives... but until the right message is sent out, this problem is not going to disappear!
To start with, sugar is a simple carbohydrate and is stored in the body as FAT! Refined carbohydrates turn to sugar during the digestive process and, again, are stored in the body as FAT!
So the right message would be that a diet based on natural and unprocessed foods like meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and nuts is the key to improving your health, in addition to living an active lifestyle and committing to at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Here are a few more tips for those mainstreamers who are missing the point:
-
1. Start making healthy foods more affordable and
incentivise those who improve their health by
following 'healthy lifestyle programmes'... AFTER
they've achieved their goals.
2. Be bold and start to think of high-calorie fast foods in the same way as cigarettes... They're bad for you!.. and a definite candidate for a hefty 'fat tax' if you ask me.
3. Don't ask fast food outlets to provide dietary or nutritional advice... they certainly won't get the right message across.
Fighting the obesity, diabetes and heart disease crisis is really a no-brainer, if you're holding the right end of the stick.
Sources:
'Why a fat tax will have no effect on obesity levels' published online, 05.10.11, dailymail.co.uk
'Conservative Party Conference 2011: fat tax could be introduced in Britain' published online, 04.10.11, telegraph.co.uk
Hooper L, et al. Dietary intake and prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review. BMJ 2001 322(7289):757-630
Hooper L, et al. Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jul 6;7:CD002137.
'How we eat appears to influence how much we eat' by Dr. Briffa, published online, 19.06.09, drbriffa.com
'Effect of bite size and oral processing time of a semisolid food on satiation' by Zijlstra N, published 10.06.09, Am J Clin Nutr
'Government to beat obesity epidemic by PAYING fat people to lose weight' published online 24.08.10, dailymail.co.uk
'Health advice can't be left to the makers of the Big Mac' published online 12.07.10, dailymail.co.uk
'Junk food mountain: The astonishing amount of rubbish one child eats every year' published online, 12.07.10, dailymail.co.uk
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