Posted on 07/28/2009 5:08:15 PM PDT by libh8er
...Freiden said he was not endorsing the tax as a member of the administration but was "just presenting the science," according to Ambinder.....
....
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a three-cent tax would generate $24 billion over the next four years, and proponents of the tax argued before the committee that it would lower consumption of sugary drinks and improve Americans' overall health.
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(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I wonder how Pepsi feels about this, since they went so far as to change their logo to mimic the big 0’s.
I am obese and have been all my life. I am also the mom of 3 normal sized children. Just from my own experience, I think many obese people eat the wrong foods for their body. The the bigger you get, the harder it is to exercise. It’s a nasty cycle.
I also think there are reasons for obesity that just are not known yet. Last year some scientists say a virus may be to blame sometimes. It can also be some connection in the endocrine system that we just haven’t figured out yet. fifty years from now we are going to look at taxing ‘sin’ foods as something that was just so off the mark.
Until science gives us better answers, though, the best way we have to battle this disease is diet and exercise. It won’t work for everyone as effectively, but right now it’s all we have.
I’ve posted this elsewhere, but Frieden has a long history of this sort of thing. When he was NYC health commissioner, he made it *mandatory* for doctors to report their diabetic patients’ blood glucose results to the city Department of Health. The city would then track the patient’s ongoing status, and contact them if it appeared said patients were apparently not following the proper diet/medication/etc. plan.
Here’s some more about Dr. Frieden:
http://www.activistcash.com/biography.cfm/bid/3614
The guy fits right in with 0bama’s health care proposals. Yeesh!
And they're going to do what exactly with all that money?
This (like all fast food taxes) won't affect the elites, who get their calories from French pastries and a good Sauterne at a swank restaurant. And buy their untaxed calories at Whole Foods.
Obesity?
They are going about this all wrong.
Soda bubbles = CO2. Carbon dioxide. We belch tons of it chugging Pepsi (or Coke). Diet or Sugared. It makes no difference.
We are killing our planet to enrich the Soda Executives!
Strip them of pay and bonuses.
Put them down.
SAVE THE PLANET.
(Look for my next rant on the evils of Beer).
If they taxed stupidity in D.C., all of those fools would be destitute.
Some food for thought:
http://www.truehealth.org/obesity.html
As I said, this should be seriously studied to find out the real cause. Thirty years ago, almost no one was obese. Even the “fat” kids back then would simply be considered slightly overweight today. As a kid, I ate tons of sugary/fatty crap and stayed rail thin. Our daughter is not obese, but she is overweight even though my wife and I are thin and we watch the family diet closely. I am afraid that she will get obese after she is out on her own.
I’ll bet those kids’ thumbs are well developed.
These children are in WAAY over their heads....
That’s like saying a Tax on Stupidity will eliminate the Democrat Party.
Hope springs eternal.
it's like outlawing guns instead of jailing criminals, taxing soda is just plain 0bama...
Surely less pop will be produced as a result. Leaving only fat people, who will be gouged and drink it anyway. With the largest impact falling on the poor, as always.
I am not sure if this is the way to go, but...the number of obese kids is shocking. As a college professor, I see more than my share of em. When you talk to some of them, they swear up and down they eat right and try to exercise. My gut tells me its not just eating habits at work here. Something is very wrong with these kidsnot sure if its genetic, behavioral or something in the food supply. Or perhaps all of the above.
I think your right. Its more than just diet and exercise. I don’t think anyone has gotten past the diet and exercise theory to actually study this though.
Oh yeah that will do it! NOT! Holy cow are these people that stupid? All a tax will do is get them to buy less soap and more food and soda, DUH!
I have no problem with them levying a tax against McD’s Taco Bell, etc. I never eat at any of those places ever.
Now there’s an idea! Everyone with an IQ under 100 owes $X! Guess I shouldn’t give them ideas, huh!
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This is actually a very active area of research.
There are a number of factors going on here. Kids are less active. Lower activity means fewer calories burned, and higher probability of gaining weight.
Once the weight starts to go up, the metabolism changes. It then becomes very difficult to lose weight. Every time one tries to cut back, the body starts to send all kinds of signals that it’s starving.
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