Gujarat tackles obesity with 'fat tax' plan: Will be second state after Kerala to do so

If you do not already know about a ‘fat tax’, which was imposed in Kerala and what it entails, the word ‘fat tax’ might seem a bit misleading. It conjures up the thought of a tax which will be levied only on fat people, which is an outrageously ridiculous premise.To clarify, Kerala Finance Minister Dr Thomas Issac announced on 8 July that a tax would be imposed on branded restaurants selling junk food, which will also affect food chains like Pizza Hut.[caption id="attachment_2904188" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]Following suit, the Gujarat government is deliberating imposing a 14.5 percent fat tax on junk food sold in restaurants to raise money for preventive healthcare measure, reported The Times of India.However, as Tushar Dhara notes in this Firstpost piece, Kerala has high Human Development indicators (impressive achievements in health, education, nutrition and above average standard of living) but fails in the health sector.Similar to Kerala where obesity rates are on the rise, Gujarat has almost 75 lakh people suffering from obesity. DNA quoted obesity surgeon at NM Virani Wokhardt Hospital Dr Apurva Vyas as saying that in “Gujarat at least 75 lakh people are suffering from the condition.”The World Health Organisation calls obesity as “one of today’s most blatantly visible-yet most neglected-public health problems. Obesity can have serious social and psychological implications.According to a study conducted by International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, the overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 10.2 percent and 6 percent, respectively.Another study by International Journal of Applied Biology and Pharmaceutical Technology, Gujarat ranks tenth for males and seventh for females in the prevalence of overweight and obesity.To exacerbate the obesity problem in Gujarat, the state also has the highest number of diabetes and hypertension cases as reported in the National Health Profile 2015 by Central Bureau of Health Intelligence under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.The Indian Express mentions the health profile report in an article, which states that the number of diabetic persons in Gujarat stands at 1,61,578 which is 20.5 per cent of the total 7,87,435 population screened. Apart from this,Gujarat also has the highest number of cases reported for hypertension.According to World Diabetes Federation, nearly 4 crore people in India suffer from diabetes and about 8-10 percent are reported solely from Gujarat.Considering that experts predict the numbers to rise, it is probably a sane decision to levy a 'fat tax'. It may be one of the first steps which might help the government in bettering the declining health status of the people.However, The Times of India reports that since the Goods and Services Tax may be implemented soon, the government must look at all possibilities to prepare the ground for imposing the fat tax.