Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages And Diabetes Prevention Policy Case Study
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Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Diabetes Prevention Policy Brief
Xuan Zhang, 9/30/2015
Obesity in Kentucky has become a concentrating point for public attention. Since the obesity population lacks political power, this population is more dependent on government intervention. Therefore it is time to frame the problem and the tax law politically (1, 2). The one-cent per ounce federal tax on soda and other sweetened beverages with added caloric sweetener has been advocated in order to finance prevention and health care for government revenues and to combat the obesity issues. Taxation has been considered as an effective means of changing health behaviors, such as reducing the intake of sugar sweetened beverages, and as a means of raising government revenue for health programs (1).
Obesity and Beverage Consumption…show more content… Based on the recent survey of obesity, Kentucky’s adult obesity rate is 31.6% (1.1 million prevalent cases) based on 2015 F as in Fat Report, ranking the 12th highest in the US (3). The rate was 12.7% in 1990, and kept increasing dramatically up to where it is today (3). Obesity related diseases, such as heart disease, arthritis, hypertension and obesity-related cancer, also keep increasing and are expected to be up to 3 to 9 times the number of cases today by 2030 (3). The child obesity rate in Kentucky is 35.7% based on Child Health Data, ranking the 7th most obese state in the US for children (4). Children who are obese are at greater risk for muscular skeletal problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems (5). Therefore they are at high risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, and osteoarthritis