Taxman gets rich as people get fatter

People often say why don't obese people just eat less and exercise more?
Overweight man eating fast foodOverweight man eating fast food
Overweight man eating fast food

I wish it were that simple. However, the number one cause of obesity is poverty.

Food that is high in fat and low in nutrition is mass-produced and cheap.

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Food that is high in nutrition and low in fat is hand-produced and expensive. Those on lower incomes cannot afford it.

Generally speaking people who are cash poor tend to be time poor so they don’t have time to cook fresh food.

Some people out there can only afford to eat one or two meals a day. If that happens, then your body thinks nutrition isn’t coming regularly and will slow down its metabolism and store as much fat as it can.

People who are in a rush, often wolf their food down quickly so the brain doesn’t register it.

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It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register that you have eaten. Such people stuff themselves making the problem worse, especially if that food is high fat.

Those on lower incomes cannot afford gyms and personal trainers.

Some of you may remember Superman III, in which someone says that whenever there is a problem someone gets rich.

So who gets rich from obesity? Is it the supermarkets? Is it the fast food industry? No, it’s the taxman.

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Your doctor doesn’t want you to smoke or drink or be overweight.

The taxman wants you to eat like a horse, drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney.

You’ll say smoking costs the NHS £5 billion a year and that the taxman gets £9.5billion a year in duty.

Alcohol-related harm costs the NHS in England £3.5 billion a year. In 2010 it was reported that alcohol contributed £14.6bn to the taxman.

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Health problems associated with being overweight or obese cost the NHS more than £5 billion every year.

In real terms, taking into account minimum wage rises, alcohol, unhealthy food and cigarettes are cheaper than ever.

Now if you smoke, drink and are obese you’ll die sooner.

The taxman saves your pension of £5881.20 a year if you die early. That doesn’t include other costs, such as medical treatment.

If I had my way, cigarette and alcohol duty should rise markedly yearly. We should introduce a sugar tax.

We should do much more to combat obesity and be financially more prudent on all levels.

Dr James Bond

Mulehouse Road Sheffield S10