Pound for pound, it's a bad idea

Dwain Walden

July 04, 2009 10:48 pm

— Routinely we hear about the obesity problem in America. Much commentary has been offered on the subject, but today I received a suggestion from the Heartland Institute which was a new twist on the subject.
Steve Stanek says that obese people should be taxed directly as oppoed to tax sugar-ladened foods like soft drinks. At first, I couldn’t really tell if this was tongue’n cheek commentary because he sounded pretty upset. He says an occasional Royal Crown Cola (160 calories) does not cause him to gain weight, and he likens taxes on obesity producing foods for everyone to regulations against the possession of a firearm by a responsible, law abiding person.
Then I realized he had to be a bit facetious. The primary reason is that too many factors would be involved in a fat tax. Would we have fat police patrols? How would obesity be measured?
One time when I went for a physical, a nurse told me I was significantly overweight. I weigh 205 pounds and I’m just a smidgen under five feet, 10 inches tall. Her chart said I should weight about 165 pounds. And once upon a time I did. I was in the 10th grade.
Charts don’t take into account body structure. I work out in the gym regularly. I can still jog three miles without calling my wife to come get me. (I do carry my cell phone, however, just in case.) Because of my workout routine, I probably have more muscle mass than many men my age. So if I was taxed on weight, would I get a credit for muscle mass versus fat mass?
And yes, I’m being a bit facetious just responding to such an idea of a fat tax. But, I’m a columnist and space must be filled.
Obviously, we cannot put a direct tax on the obese. It would be ruled unconstitutional under the provision of “life, liberty and the pursuit of French fries.” Just kidding. And it would be insensitive to many.
But we can promote physical fitness and health education in general. I see a lot of people at the gym pursuing better health. I think the education part is gaining momentum.
And some companies are offering health insurance incentives to those who don’t smoke and who join fitness programs.
And I’m not saying that Mr. Stanek’s commentary is without socially redeeming value. In fact, it’s a monologue on a very serious problem. And it can lead to discussion, information exchange and quite possibly some resolve to pursue better health.
The bottom line is, I don’t support directly taxing obesity. I do realize that health care and the associated costs are a major problem.
But like so many others, I don’t know all that must be done. It’s kind of like trying to nail Jello to the wall or asking, how long is a piece of string?
I have learned something along the way though that I stand by as absolute: dieting without exercise is a waste of time. It’s a tandem like freedoms and responsibilities.
One more conclusion: For exercise to work, it has to involve some amount of discomfort. No pain, no gain. Or to be more specific with my own phrasing, “if it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t work.”
(Dwain Walden is editor/publisher of The Moultrie Observer, 985-4545. E-mail: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)

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