SFEBES2017 Debate This house believes that the UK population trend in obesity cannot be reversed without food taxation (2 abstracts)
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
The epidemic nature of obesity/overweight throughout the developed and less-developed world suggests that major new influences are at play. Correct identification of these influences must precede discussion of what action can rationally be planned. The widespread failure to recognise that this problem concerns the whole population and not merely those with a BMI over the arbitrary normal level is a critical factor in appreciating the nature of the problem. The lack of efficacy of exhortations to lose weight, and the potential effect of specific targets for food taxation, such as a sugar tax, will be considered.