On Monday a report called 'Measuring Up' was released by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges which outlined 10 suggestions to the government to help start reverse the obesity epidemic. Although I don't agree with everything in the report I did agree with the one that had everyone shouting from the roof tops that it was Orwellian, "Sugary drinks tax: For an initial one year, a duty should be piloted on all sugary soft drinks, increasing the price by at least 20%. This would be an experimental measure, looking at price elasticity, substitution effects, and to what extent it impacts upon consumption patterns and producer/retailer responses".
People were so outraged that after I did an interview with Sky News, where I agreed with the trial tax, I got an email stating and I quote "your harping on about obesity, like its a crime,.. bunch of fashists". In my reply I corrected their grammar and spelling mistakes. For the record I am not part of any fascist organisation nor do I think that being obese is a crime, however I do think that it is cause for concern with obesity and related diseases costing the NHS £6billion a year. We do need to do something pro-active and although this trial sugary drink tax isn't 'the solution' it is something that will start to separate sugar as a toxin rather than a food, just as alcohol and tobacco are.
Thankfully on Wednesday I managed to speak with obesity researcher and author of The Obesity Epidemic, Zoe Harcombe about why we have an obesity epidemic and how we can go about reversing it. This is an amazing interview that clearly and concisely explains the reasons why we have an obesity epidemic and more importantly what to do about it!
To watch more interviews like this one go to www.YouTube.com/SmashTheFat