http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: "All chocolate and junk food ‘should be slapped with 20% fat tax’ " en Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:40:55 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-189156 Fri, 22 May 2015 12:23:12 +0000 Min 189156@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I listened to a really interesting podcast recently where the guy made a really interesting point that as processed food gets more and more sophisticated in terms of flavourings, real food gets blander and blander as it is made to grow faster and be full of water instead of flavour. Little wonder then that people are drawn to processed food and end up eating more and more of it and becoming ever fatter and more malnourished.</p> <p>Here is the podcast if anyone is interested - it is the Intelligent Medicine Podcast - <a href="http://drhoffman.com/podcast/the-dorito-effect-part-1/">Part 1</a> <a href="http://drhoffman.com/podcast/the-dorito-effect-part-2/">Part 2</a>.</p> <p>The book he wrote is called The Dorito Effect because apparently the whole artificial flavour industry started when one man had the idea to coat corn chips with something in order to give them flavour. Fascinating and scary at the same time. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-158071 Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:35:54 +0000 Min 158071@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A fat tax would be a dreadful idea as it would just mean even more sugar in processed food. A processed food tax might help but we all know that will never happen. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-158059 Thu, 26 Jun 2014 11:57:33 +0000 holisticglint 158059@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Seems that talk of a "fat tax" for food is getting more common. I wonder what sort of rate they would need to have it at to have an impact since I just picked up over 1000 kcals of doughnuts from Tesco for 60p &lt;nom nom nom&gt; </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-158049 Thu, 26 Jun 2014 10:53:02 +0000 Min 158049@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28022948" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28022948</a></p> <p>Rather an old thread but I think this story about drinking water instead of sugary drinks fits in with some of the stuff that has been said.</p> <p><em>Sugar producer AB Sugar said "demonising one ingredient" would not "solve the obesity epidemic".</em></p> <p>Hehe, Yes they would say that. ;-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-77627 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 08:56:43 +0000 holisticglint 77627@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kirst "The reasons people overeat are often many and complex"</p> <p>BBC2 is running an excellent series about this</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k0fs0" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k0fs0</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-77585 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:29:12 +0000 chdot 77585@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"BBC News - Viewpoint: Ban junk food sponsors from Olympic sports"</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-77584 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:26:32 +0000 chdot 77584@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> Should a Fast Food Company Be Sponsoring the Olympics?</p> <p>"</p> <p><a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2012/07/should-fast-food-company-be-sponsoring-olympics/2514" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2012/07/should-fast-food-company-be-sponsoring-olympics/2514</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-77582 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:59:55 +0000 kaputnik 77582@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Min, yes I have and they are not just breathless, fit looking blokes, but breathless, fit looking ladies. I beleive they are all members of the Olympic squad and advert seems to be suggesting they need a good, healthy, Subway sandwich diet to maintain their peak athletic performance.</p> <p>Pfft again. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-77574 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:35:26 +0000 Min 77574@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Rather long but interesting article on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790">BBC</a> about junk food manufacturers sponsoring the Olympics. The statements from the manufacturers are telling. Cadbury's and Heineken come out best with their "yeah we sell chocolate/beer so what?" They are at least being honest, unlike some others. </p> <p>Has anyone seen the Subway advert going about just now? Breathless, fit looking bloke eats enormous, mayonnaise soaked "sandwiches"* to fuel his breathless, blokey fitness stuff?</p> <p>*I always thought a sandwich was some filling between two slives of bread and not multiple fillings inside an entire loaf. </p> <p>Pfft. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76543 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:07:05 +0000 earthowned 76543@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>It must be awful to have to count up how many calories are in everything you eat.</em></p> <p>I'd imagine that it's even worse being a type 1 diabetic and having to count carbohydrate in everything you eat. (Then have people telling you that you got the disease from eating too much).</p> <p>Sorry, rant over! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76482 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:20:52 +0000 chdot 76482@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Cycling Surgeon tweeted a link to an article recently about a man who had had gastric band surgery"</p> <p>He had one himself and took up cycling. </p> <p>Now he is 'in charge' of the CTC in Scotland and networking with senior NHS people. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76480 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:12:28 +0000 Kirst 76480@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's not as simple as tax the chocolate and pies. Lots of people are caught out by things like fast food salads which can easily have 500-800 calories. Shop sandwiches as well, often very calorific. You think you're making a healthy choice having salad in McDonalds, you'd have been better having a burger. </p> <p>It's no good making nutritious healthy food cheaper and more available (important if you live somewhere where the only shop sells fish suppers and nappies) if people don't know what to do with it. So many people have no idea how to cook. I don't know if it should be the schools' job to teach people how to cook, or the parents', but if the parents never learned, how can the kids learn from them? Maybe the NHS and councils should be doing some health promotion work, running cooking classes for teenagers and adults.</p> <p>Also, it's no use assuming that obesity is simply because people don't know how to make good food choices. I'm well aware of how to make good food choices, but I'm still fat. The reasons people overeat are often many and complex. It's not always about being greedy and lazy. I reckon 40% of my excess weight is down to greed and laziness, 10% is down to several years of various subsequent injuries which have affected my ability to exercise, and the rest is because of psychological factors I'm not going to go into here - factors which mean I'm more likely to choose greed and laziness rather than moderation and exercise. </p> <p>Cycling Surgeon tweeted a link to an article recently about a man who had had gastric band surgery. The saddest part for me was that although he had lost loads of weight, he still wanted to overeat. Fitting the band reduced his stomach size, it didn't fix his psychological issues. </p> <p>A tax on cake wouldn't affect me - I make my own. A tax on chocolate would affect my pocket but it wouldn't stop me buying it. Not that I buy much cheap chocolate, I tend to go for expensive Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate in the hope I'll eat less of it, and I'm not really into Galaxy etc; it's too sweet for me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76471 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:52:28 +0000 Min 76471@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Nah I just forgot. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76470 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:49:31 +0000 chdot 76470@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"which I am annoyed I missed last night"</p> <p>Think it was obliterated by 'the tennis'. </p> <p>iPlayer? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-76469 Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:46:17 +0000 Min 76469@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>One of those annoying BBC videos confirming what I was ranting about above (why can't they have a "read me" version?), that people will eat more of something if it is sold in some way as being "healthy" ie Low Fat or Organic etc.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18601093" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18601093</a></p> <p>It is a clip from The Men Who Made Us Fat programme which I am annoyed I missed last night. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70954 Thu, 17 May 2012 18:02:01 +0000 Uberuce 70954@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>That's already the case, in some ways; all but the most obviously recreational foodstuffs are exempt from VAT. </p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_Added_Tax_(United_Kingdom)" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_Added_Tax_(United_Kingdom)</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70923 Thu, 17 May 2012 15:52:50 +0000 custard 70923@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I would rather see discounts/incentives for healthy foods<br /> Eg fresh met,fish,veg etc opposed to healthy premade stuff </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70908 Thu, 17 May 2012 15:02:14 +0000 PS 70908@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I suspect you've nailed it with the low fat food - the problem is eating too much packaged, refined, pre-prepared food. And then not getting any exercise. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70882 Thu, 17 May 2012 13:14:33 +0000 Min 70882@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"Anyway, surely it's pretty obvious: chocolate bars - don't eat too many of those etc."</em></p> <p>The chocolate bar is only an example but I actually do not think it is all that obvious. I have many many other examples which are not so obvious but it is not hard to figure out that if you think something does not have many calories then you will think it is okay to eat. I mean, a full sized chocolate bar with only 118 calories is practically a health food right?</p> <p>Which brings me on to another food irritation. All those "low fat" things. That is really healthy right? Nope. They are stuffed with sugar to make up for the lack of fat. I once saw a packet of sweets with a huge label on the front saying "FAT FREE!" No wonder people are confused.</p> <p>Someone on TV yesterday was making the point that a fat tax should only be used if there is a corresponding untax on healthy food - ie make it cheaper. I think this is a good point but only if it can be agreed what is healthy and what is not (syrup is not healthy even if it is fat free). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70875 Thu, 17 May 2012 12:31:32 +0000 PS 70875@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It must be awful to have to count up how many calories are in everything you eat. </p> <p>Anyway, surely it's pretty obvious: chocolate bars - don't eat too many of those etc. </p> <p>In fact, don't make them a staple part of your diet. Just occasional, if required. I can't call them treats, because I've grown to not like most chocolate bars. I guess my palate has matured.</p> <p>There you go, problem solved. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70873 Thu, 17 May 2012 12:27:02 +0000 Uberuce 70873@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I bet you'd get a lot more folk exercising hard if you could qualify for an exemption by athletic prowess. Mind you, it'd give more ammo to the foamers:</p> <p>"You don't pay road tax!"<br /> "Well, yes I do."<br /> "Fine, but you don't pay fat tax!"<br /> "You got me there, porkchop!"<br /> "FUUUUUUUUUUUUU" </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70862 Thu, 17 May 2012 11:46:35 +0000 Min 70862@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>" Foods have had their nutritional/calorific content displayed on them (often discreetly, around the back) for years but it's not stopping people from over-indulging;"</em></p> <p>I think that the calorific content is often very confusing. Often it is given per 100g so you have to try and calculate from that how many calories you have actually eaten. Or they are per "serving" but are unclear as to what a serving actually is. For ages I thought that a Galaxy Caramel was only 118 calories but if you look closely enough you will find that "one" does not equal one bar of Galaxy Caramel but half a bar as they come cut into two sticks.</p> <p>I think it is very much time this was cleared up properly so that you do not need to be good at sums or very persistent to be able to work out how much you are eating. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70856 Thu, 17 May 2012 11:03:57 +0000 wingpig 70856@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wonder if some sort of dose-controlled-drug-style system such as maximal package-size or single-purchase-quantity would work for chocolate or pies? R/A/G labelling might be of benefit on foods which people perceive as not obviously unhealthy (salt and butter disguised as ready meals etc.) but a bar of chocolate is a bar of chocolate. Foods have had their nutritional/calorific content displayed on them (often discreetly, around the back) for years but it's not stopping people from over-indulging; if half (of all faces of) the packaging was given over to a large-type percentage-of-daily-energy-requirements graphic (along the lines of CIGARETTES MAKE DEAD, but perhaps tailored to the particular greatest risk of the particular foodstuff) would it be any more effective? Like the cycle-infrastructure-paint-only-works-if-drivers-obey-it thing, food packaging warnings can only be fully effective when the import of the warnings are understood/heeded by the consumer. Portion sizes have a lot to answer for, as it's very easy even for health-aware people to massively over-indulge just by filling a bowl or covering a plate, particularly with something like breakfast cereal based on the tiny 'recommended serving' of 30g. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70855 Thu, 17 May 2012 10:51:23 +0000 chdot 70855@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Michael Kelly: Time to take on the big boys and fight obesity"</p> <p><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/comment/michael-kelly-time-to-take-on-the-big-boys-and-fight-obesity-1-2298751" rel="nofollow">http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/comment/michael-kelly-time-to-take-on-the-big-boys-and-fight-obesity-1-2298751</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70830 Thu, 17 May 2012 08:59:21 +0000 alibali 70830@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Shouldn't that be a miminum price for a unit of fat?</p> <p>It would be unfair to punish responsible fat consumers to address the needs of problem eaters.</p> <p>Oh, sorry. That's alcohol.....</p> <p>Would be interesting to know whether energy bars, sports drinks and of course cake fit on the unhealthy food spectrum. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6595#post-70828 Thu, 17 May 2012 08:48:37 +0000 chdot 70828@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/all-chocolate-and-junk-food-should-be-slapped-with-20-fat-tax-1-2296863" rel="nofollow">http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/all-chocolate-and-junk-food-should-be-slapped-with-20-fat-tax-1-2296863</a> </p>