There is no doubt that the number of obese people in every country is on the rise. The fast-food consumption is one of the major factor towards weight gain. Although tax increase might be successful in the beginning, I believe in the long run healthhhy eating and exercising is the only solution.
Firstly, the tax charged on food is already higher than most commodities. Even if the government doubles the current taxes, the price of the item will not rise substantially. For instance, a Rs 100 burger has around 10% tax, and after the increase, the total amount will still be around Rs 110. Which does not make much of a difference to the customer. Furthermore, these big chains are known for cheating the consumers. They will not let their profits suffer. To overcome the increase, cost of items is raised, and their losses due to the new policies will have to come from the consumers' pockets.
Secondly, the better approach is to make strict rules around food. This is because people are more likely to get unhealthy by eating a processed and outdated meal. For example, Subway is known to use a lot of processed meats, and chemicals to keep them fresh for longer. The government should ban all the processed food, and there should be guidelines which everyone should follow. In addition, regular checking of restaurants by health inspectors is necessary, this will ensure no one is breaking the rules. One good example is the European Union, they have one of the best policies in terms of restaurants, everyone is monitored closely to make sure everything is in order.
To conclude, developed countries spend a huge amount of their budget on healthcare, this could be used elsewhere if people become proactive about their health. Higher taxes can only benefit momentarily. Unless the government monitor every step of these fast-food chains, this problem will only escalate.
There is no doubt that the number of obese
people
in every country is on the rise. The
fast
-food consumption is one of the major factor towards weight gain. Although
tax
increase might be successful in the beginning, I believe in the long run
healthhhy
eating and exercising is the
only
solution.
Firstly
, the
tax
charged on food is already higher than most commodities. Even if the
government
doubles the
current
taxes
, the price of the item will not rise
substantially
.
For instance
, a Rs 100 burger has around 10%
tax
, and after the increase, the total amount will
still
be around Rs 110.
Which
does not
make
much of a difference to the customer.
Furthermore
, these
big
chains
are known
for cheating the consumers. They will not
let
their profits suffer. To overcome the increase, cost of items
is raised
, and their losses due to the new policies will
have to
come
from the consumers' pockets.
Secondly
, the better approach is to
make
strict
rules
around food. This is
because
people
are more likely to
get
unhealthy by eating a processed and outdated meal.
For example
, Subway
is known
to
use
a lot of
processed meats, and chemicals to
keep
them fresh for longer. The
government
should ban all the processed food, and there should be guidelines which everyone should follow.
In addition
, regular checking of restaurants by health inspectors is necessary, this will ensure no one is breaking the
rules
. One
good
example is the European Union, they have one of the best policies in terms of restaurants, everyone
is monitored
closely
to
make
sure everything is in order.
To conclude
,
developed countries
spend a huge amount of their budget on healthcare, this could be
used
elsewhere if
people
become proactive about their health. Higher
taxes
can
only
benefit
momentarily
. Unless the
government
monitor every step of these
fast
-food chains, this problem will
only
escalate.