Obesity

Struggling with the issues of weight loss and living a healthier lifestyle. Losing weight could be a short term goal, but the main idea is to eat and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Many Americans struggle with difficulties of weight loss, not only losing the weight but keeping it off. Different methods are used for losing weight, such as, exercise, various types of dieting and some medically needed procedures. Even though weight loss is vital to many people’s careers and futures, it doesn’t mean that it’s easier for these people than it is for you and me.

The difference is that most people have a state of mind that they can’t afford to fail. So they are willing to pay thousands of dollars for personal coaching and expensive surgical procedures to lose the weight and keep it off. On a long-term basis, there is only one safe, effective, foolproof way to get down to a lower weight and keep off the extra pounds. That is eating a healthier reduced-calorie diet and getting enough exercise on a daily basis. Many have come to think that eating fewer calories means eating less food.

However, it doesn’t mean that you have to walk around in a state of deprivation. A feeling of deprivation is the surest way to make your weight-loss plan fail. Most people find themselves eating more food when they deprive themselves. Most first-time dieters don’t enjoy counting calories because they quickly discover that it is time consuming and can become a complicated chore. Calorie counting goes hand in hand with feeling deprived that sometimes causes a person to back away from their diet. Struggling with weight-loss can be a very serious issue.

The quality of your life and how long you live is to a great extent in your own hands. For what you choose to eat largely determines whether your body wards off or becomes vulnerable to a host of life-shortening diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, hypertension, and heart disease. But changing to healthy eating habits, especially if you have not previously followed the guidelines recommended by nutritionists, can be a challenge. One could have a normal number of calories but have them all from fat, and cause other problems that can lead to heart disease or stroke.

Having a similarly unbalanced diet with all the calories coming from carbohydrates can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, plus it’s a really easy way to gain weight as you get older. It also promotes dental problems, especially if it’s foods that tend to get caught in your mouth or on your teeth. The easiest way to do that is to avoid or at least severely limit intake of fast foods, candies, snack foods, and sweet desserts. There are all kinds of health issues related to over consumption of sugar. Diabetes would be the number one health concern.

But, diabetes is not the only ill effect from over consumption of sugar. Obesity, thyroid dysfunction, kidney malfunction, and intestinal problems can all be directly associated with too much sugar consumption. Once your body has reached the point of unhealthy functioning, or you have placed such a strain on your body from over consumption that one of the related diseases has taken hold, it’s almost impossible to correct one problem without creating another. Once you have become a diabetic, there are so many complications; simply choosing dieting and exercise is no longer an option.

The health concerns you now have far outweigh the easy solution of diet and exercise. However, high blood pressure is also a known risk factor, for those that are over weight and have lack of physical activity and does not maintain healthy eating habits. The more you weigh the more blood your body needs to supply oxygen and nutrients. As the volume of blood circulated through your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure on your arteries. People who are inactive tend to have higher heart rates. The higher your heart rate, the harder your heart must work with each contraction and the stronger the force on your arteries.

Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of being overweight with stress that can lead to temporary high blood pressure. If you try to relax by eating more you may only increase the risk of having hypertension. with weight loss for a healthier lifestyle most people start by eating the right foods that can help us avoid certain diseases or recover faster when illnesses occur. These and other important functions are fueled by chemical substances in our food called nutrients. Nutrients are classified as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Although humans need food to survive, many people eat too much, or choose the wrong foods to eat, which leads to the body putting on weight. When you eat more calories than your daily energy requirements the extra calories are stockpiled as body-fat. Slowly these fat cells keep building up and settle on the hips, waist, thighs, upper arms and back, as well as around the heart, kidneys, liver and other organs. Fortunately body-fat can easily convert into energy; however, you must reduce your fat intake and exercise regularly.

If you only reduce your fat and don’t exercise, your body will also break down muscle tissue and use them for fuel. Many people struggle to lose weight that is put on and that’s where weight loss companies come to the rescue. There are many different ways for weight to be lost, as there are many different sorts of weight loss companies. Firstly there is exercise centers such as gyms and recreation centers which focus on fitness as the key to lose weight, Many varieties of pills, tablets and vitamin supplements are available that claim to make you lose weight.

Meal replacement programs are available where the consumer has a liquid drink instead of a meal and this provides them with necessary nutrients. Diet plans are commonly found in magazines as well as the more common weight loss centers which some supply you with foods to eat and others inform you and assist you in making wise food choices. In conclusion, I found in order to be successful with losing weight for a healthier lifestyle you can follow techniques such as, eating more vegetables during meals as water-rich foods like zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers reduce your overall calorie consumption.

Some other water-rich foods include soups and salads; they are good source of nutrition, take most of the calories before noon because studies tell that the more you eat in the morning, the less you’ll eat in the evening. Moreover, you will get more chances to burn off those early-day calories than late-night calories, make water your favorite drink. A person must have a minimum of 8 glasses of water in a day. Avoid taking soft drinks or carbonated beverages; moreover replace them with water.

Water helps in reducing weight in the most effective manner. Avoid taking white foods as they contain large amounts of carbohydrates, which may further lead to weight gain. Replace white sugar, white rice, and white flour with whole grain breads and brown rice. Eat fruit rather than drinking fruit juice. Eating whole foods will keep you satisfied for longer period of time than juice. Moreover, fruit juices are very high in calories. Use skimmed milk as it is high in calcium and low in calories. For coffee, use nonfat powdered milk.

Don’t stuff yourself with food in a single sitting; instead have 5 to 6 small meals or snacks in a day. Eating several small meals helps the body to release less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps to control hunger. More and more methods develop each day but studies show the most effective method is changing your diet mentally and physically challenging yourself. Picture this: The weight is over. Of course, this essay is not promising you that you will add years to your life, or that a funny and fabulous new personality will emerge.

Also, it is not promising that you will become thinner than you’ve ever been when changing your eating habits. What it is promising is that a changed relationship with your eating habits will add benefits to your life even as it subtracts pounds and takes away your fear of regaining weight. , as the saying goes, and the knowledge you gain from this essay can give you the power you need to change the most constant, necessary, and ongoing relationship that you have, your relationship with food.

The knowledge you take from this essay should give you a realistic sense of just what is an appropriate goal for you. Genetic predisposition and even psychological factors can affect your weight. Therefore, for the person you are, there’s an appropriate weight at which you’ll look and feel your best. That’s the goal you want to aim for and maintain.

References

1. (http://exercise. about. com/cs/weightloss/a/howtoloseweight)
2. (http://acefitness. org/blog/494/how-can-i-lose-weight-and-keep-it-off)

Is there too much explicit sex on T. V? Over the past century, television has changed quite alot. Contents that was once seen as being inappropriate and outrageous, is now on everyday television. Recently, sex has become the main focus on our television screens. Many people think it is bad for young people’s health but others may say it is an appropriate way of advertising and attracting viewers and readers. Sexual scenes and images can lead people to a very wrong conclusion of how they should look and act.

Television producers claim that what they are broadcasting is appropriate but many young people do end up watching women and men who all have perfect bodies. Body image is a major issue in the UK and according to a survey from 2008, 44% of women express negative feelings about both individual body parts and their bodies as a whole. If this is an adult’s view of their body, then the images in the media are affecting girls and even boys from our own generation on a much higher level, leaving many young people with very low self-esteem and lack of confidence.

Reasons to support the views that there is too much explicit sex on TV is that some people feel that sex on television has become acceptable and is being broadcasted in ‘soaps’ and other programs during the day. Carolyn Teasley, a journalist said, “Soap operas have bored me recently, it was becoming harder to tell who had slept with whom anyway. ” This quote shows that some people have became bored and lost interest in programs because they no longer care about an interesting story, or plot, only the advertisement of sex.

Sex on TV can also influence children in a huge way, many teenagers have admitted to having underage sex because they have felt pressured from the television and the programmess that they watch. However, in the programmes, the teenagers do not see the dangers and consequences of sex. They only see a directors perception of an interesting scene. This can cause underage people to get sexually transmitted diseases and also underage pregnancy.

Some people find sex or even the implementation of sex quite boring and not very interesting, they also don’t see it as it being an important part of relationship between two people who truly love each other. Some choose to change the channel when there is a scene of a male and female undressing. Most people say that they would rather read an interesting story than see sex displayed on television. Most couples have admitted to feeling insecure when watching sex on television because the actors have perfect bodies and look a certain way and they do not.

Adding to this most people, especially elderly people can feel uncomfortable watching sex scenes on television. On the other hand, some people feel that sex on television isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be. For example some people feel that sex on TV can benefit children. The UK has one of the worst teenage pregnancy rates in the developed world, simply because children are not being taught enough at school about sex. A channel 4 programme called “the sex education show” teaches children about sex in an appropriate manor, also the show is shown at later hours so no young children can see.

Another point that can be made is that most parents complain and say there is too much sex on TV and their young child is exposed to the sexual behavior on the TV. However, sky and some freeview boxes have a parental control with a pin code to view only certain channels and it is up to the parent which programmes their child can watch, if they chose to let their child watch a programme of a sexual nature, then they have no right to comment and say it is not appropriate because the child has been given its parents discretion. Another advantage is the income that is made from these programmes and movies.

Most programmes that have high ratings are of a sexual nature. Statistics show that more people watch shows with sexual content such as ‘Friends’, ‘two and a half men’ and ‘scrubs’. A leading journalist for the guardian said “As time goes by television broadens its horizons and opens up new doors. Television draws in audiences by portraying what’s on people’s minds and what’s going on around them. People will continue to be attracted to money and sex on television,” Although many people think sex on TV is bad, the majority of people agree that is it also a good thing.

To conclude, my opinion on the amount of sex on TV is acceptable. I feel that programmes of a sexual nature are shown at an appropriate time. I also feel that sex on TV does help educate young children, because young children can make up insane rumours about things involving sex and seeing the truth on TV can reasure the child of what is right and wrong. In addition I think it is the responsibility of the parent to decide what they are allowing their children to be exposed to, they shouldnt let their child watch the programme if they do not think it is suitable or appropriate for their age.

Background

Overweight and fleshiness prevalence has increased globally ; nevertheless, current prevalence and tendencies of fleshy by societal category in low- and middle-income states are unknown.

Methods

Repeated cross-sectional, nationally representative informations from adult females aged 18-49 ( n=556,352 ) in 41 low- and middle-income states were used to find the prevalence of corpulence ( body mass index a‰?25 ) at each study moving ridge by wealth quintile and educational attainment ( individually ) . The SES-specific prevalence difference and prevalence growing rate for each state were compared for the lowest and highest SES groups. Linear arrested development estimated the association between state wealth and fleshy prevalence growing.

Consequences

In the bulk of country-years the highest wealth and instruction groups still have the highest age-standardized prevalence of corpulence and fleshiness ( 97 of 111 entire country-years ) . However, in about half of the states ( 21 of 41 ) , the additions in fleshy prevalence over clip have been greater in the lowest SES group compared to the highest SES group. Higher country-level Gross Domestic Product per capita ( GDP ) was associated with a higher fleshy prevalence growing rate for the lowest wealth group compared to the highest ( aGDPper capita/1000= 0.24 ; 95 % CI -0.015, 0.46 ) .

Decisions

Presently, higher SES groups have more fleshy than lower SES groups across most developing states. However, half the states show a faster growing rates in corpulence in the lowest Selenium groups, declarative mood of an on-going displacement in the fleshy load toward lower SES groups. Across states, this displacement toward faster fleshy growing among lower wealth groups is associated with higher GDP.

Introduction

Low socioeconomic position ( SES ) is associated with higher rates of chronic disease in high-income states 1-4. In lower-income states, chronic disease has merely late go a prima cause of morbidity and mortality 5, and less is known about the societal patterning of emerging chronic diseases in these contexts. In the yesteryear, corpulence was comparatively uncommon in lower-income states and was positively associated with SES 6. However, the prevalence of corpulence has increased dramatically in many lower-income states around the universe over the last 5-15 old ages 7-9. As the load of nutrition-related disease has shifted toward overnutrition 10, it is unknown whether the load of these emerging diseases is going comparatively heavier among lower SES groups.

Recent cross-sectional grounds suggests that in the bulk of lower-income states wealthier groups have a higher odds of corpulence. However, within-country clip tendencies of the fleshy prevalence for high and low socioeconomic position groups have non been reported. Changes in the fleshy prevalence over clip by socioeconomic position group are of import for understanding which groups are sing an increasing load of corpulence which can assist expect emerging forms of disease.

Based on ascertained relationships in higher income states and on the documented relentless associations between low socioeconomic position and the prima causes of disease in many contexts, experts have hypothesized that the load of chronic disease in lower income states will finally switch toward lower SES populations within these states ( believe I can mention yach and popkin, possibly others look at concluding disseration chapter ). Brazil is one of the few middle-income states in which alterations over clip in the SES-specific fleshy prevalence are available. Nationally-representative informations between 1975 and 2003 indicate that, among adult females, the lowest income groups have experienced much more rapid additions in fleshiness prevalence compared to highest SES groups 11. Among the two most thickly settled parts in Brazil, the fleshiness prevalence in the lowest income group has really surpassed that in the highest income group 12. Such a form of alteration in SES-specific fleshiness rates is consistent with a switching load of fleshiness to the hapless. Similar forms have been reported among adult females in urban countries of sub-saharan Africa. Merely with faster fleshy prevalence growing rates for the low SES groups could the relationship between high SES and overweight finally go opposite in states with antecedently positive relationships.

On the other manus, there is research to propose that higher SES populations in lower income states will go on to bear the largest load of chronic disease. In India… Additionally, economic dazes frequently affect nutrient security and can go forth populations with the lowest socioeconomic position most vulnerable to inadequate nutrition in these circumstances ( seek to happen some scientific rating of this, might get down by reading Sen article ) .

Merely with faster fleshy prevalence growing rates for the low SES groups could the relationship between high SES and overweight finally go opposite in states with antecedently positive relationships. Such a displacement of the load of fleshiness to low SES groups in states come oning through epidemiologic passages would be consistent with the cardinal cause theory of disease. This theory is frequently invoked to explicate wellness disparities and high spots the overall persistance of the relationship between SES and hapless wellness over clip, despite alterations in the T.

Brazil is one of the few middle-income states in which alterations over clip in the SES-specific fleshy prevalence are available. Nationally-representative informations between 1975 and 2003 indicate that, among adult females, the lowest income groups have experienced document within-country clip tendencies for growing in and, higher entire fleshy prevalence is from the Demographic Health Surveys ( DHS ), which are nationally representative family studies administered chiefly in low- and middle-income states ( henceforth referred to as lower-income states ) . The studies entail repeated cross-sections and roll up information about cardinal demographic features, birthrate, contraceptive method, wellness and nutrition. The DHS questionnaires are standardized to enable cross-country comparings 21.

Since our primary involvement is in the clip trends in fleshy prevalence we included merely states that measured anthropometrics in at least two study moving ridges. beginnings that include anthropometric informations on at least two perennial steps over clip.

The bulk are from Demographic Health. Wealth and instruction were used individually to stand for SES. To stand for wealth, we used the DHS wealth index, which is derived from a chief constituents analysis ( PCA ) of some assets that were asked in all DHS studies, every bit good as some country-specific assets 26. The wealth index was used to make country- and year-specific quintiles of wealth mark, which were used as a categorical variable in the analyses. Education was categorized based on the educational mileposts: no schooling, primary, secondary, third school. If less than 2 % of the population fell into any one of the instruction classs, that class was combined with the following closest class to avoid unstable estimations.

Results

Age-standardized fleshy prevalence was determined for each wealth and instruction group in each state and in each study twelvemonth and SES ( wealth or instruction ) group. Sample weights to account for complex study design were used in all analyses. Analysiss were conduced individually by:

1. wealth quintile,
2. instruction group.

Our results of involvement were:

1. he difference in fleshy prevalence between the lowest and the highest wealth/education groups for each study moving ridge ( prevalence difference ( PD ) ) , and, to measure clip tendencies,
2. the annualized difference in the net alteration in fleshy prevalence between the first and last study moving ridge for the lowest and highest wealth/education groups ( annualized difference in fleshy prevalence alteration rate ) .

To cipher the prevalence difference for wealth quintiles, we subtracted the prevalence in the highest wealth quintile from that of the lowest wealth quintile ( Overweightlowest- Overweighthighest ) in each study wave in each state. A positive corpulence prevalence difference would so bespeak that the lower wealth quintile had a higher prevalence of fleshy compared to the higher wealth quintile. To obtain the annualized difference in the fleshy prevalence growing rates between wealth quintiles, we took the difference between the net alteration in fleshy prevalence in the highest group and the net alteration in the lowest group ( Overweightlowest, lastwave- Overweightlowest, firstwave ) – ( Overweighthighest, lastwave – Overweighthighest, firstwave ) . A positive difference in prevalence growing rates indicated the lowest wealth quintile had a higher rate of prevalence growing rate than did the highest quintile. We repeat these analyses for each state by instruction group, classified by educational mileposts, lowest being no schooling and highest being third school.

SES was represented by wealth and instruction, in separate analyses, to research the hardiness of the consequences to different indexs of SES. For DHS states, we used the DHS wealth index ; it is derived from a chief constituents analysis ( PCA ) of assets that were asked in all studies, every bit good as some country-specific variables.

References

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2. Antonovsky A. Social Class, Life Expectancy and Overall Mortality. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 1967 ; 45:31-73.
3. Adler NE, Boyce T, Chesney MA, et Al. Socioeconomic position and wellness: The challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist 1994 ; 49:15-24.
4. Marmot MG, Smith GD, Stansfeld S, et al. Health inequalities among British civil retainers: the Whitehall II survey. Lancet 1991 ; 337:1387-93.
5. WHO. The universe wellness study 2003: determining the hereafter. Geneva: World Health Organization ; 2003.
6. Sobal J, Stunkard AJ. Socioeconomic position and fleshiness: a reappraisal of the literature. Psychol Bull 1989 ; 105:260-75.
7. Popkin BM. The World Is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies, and Merchandises That Are Fattening the Human Race. New York: Avery-Penguin Group ; 2008.
8. Popkin BM. Global nutrition kineticss: the universe is switching quickly toward a diet linked with noncontagious diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 2006 ; 84:289-98.
9. Popkin BM, Conde W, Hou N, Monteiro C. Is there a slowdown globally in fleshy tendencies for kids compared with grownups? Obesity ( Silver Spring ) 2006 ; 14:1846-53.
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A person with a IBM of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a IBM equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight. Based on the report stated by the Ministry of Health (MOM), It shows the huge increasing percent from 4. 4 percent at 2006 then increased to 15. 1 percent in 2011. From this statistic, it shows that obesity among Malaysian are becoming a serious problem. The escalation of obesity, once thought to be an urban phenomenon, has now spread to the rural population at an alarming rate.

As Malaysia proceeds rapidly towards a plopped economy status, the health of its population will probably continue to deteriorate. Therefore, a national strategy needs to be developed to tackle both dietary and activity contributors to the excess weight gain of the Malaysian population. One of the factors that influence the increasing factor of obesity is fast food intake. As the economy pass by, the fast food restaurant can be fine everywhere in Malaysia. The first franchise fast food was brought into Malaysia in 1963 was A&W by Mr. and Mrs. Lie Off from ASSAI.

The Lie Off family opened their first outlet in Clan Thank Abdul Raman making it the first fast food outlet in Malaysia. From there, Malaysian community start eat fast food and one by one the fast food restaurant came into the Malaysia like KEF McDonald’s, and many more. Malaysian love to choose all those restaurant as it is easy and affordable to get. As the fast food has wide the empire in Malaysia by enhance the service like drive true restaurant that people can get the meal without leave the car and delivery service that just pick up the phone and the meal inferno your door.

It is the best reason why even thong there is a stall all around in Malaysia, served he Malaysian food, the Malaysian like to choose fast food restaurant as their restaurant to get food. According to Hussein (2011), the ability of western fast food restaurant to cater to local Muslim market created a huge impact on local food restaurant in Malaysia. According to Small et al (2002), the improvement in socioeconomic status increases the obesity prevalence which the people are used to leading a sedentary life style and unhealthy habit.

The statement agreed by Paltrier and Alaska (2012), most of the people in this millennium century AR working people. They have to work to support their family. If 20 years back, women who has their own carrier is difficult to see,most of them are house wife. They prepared all the food for themselves and family, but in the moored live they also working to support their family. Sometimes they do extra time from the normal working hour. That lead to the buy outside food as it is easy to get and the food are ready to eat without have to prepared all the food after a long hour stay in their workplace.

Another key factor that contribute in the increasing the number of obesity factor was the eating behavior. Shootout et al (2004), mention that most of the obesity people is working. People who are working sometimes face with the irregular working hour. So they have to skip the meal or eat the meal late at night. This factor play a main role in change the diet structure. People tend to take a large amount of food for one short to ensure saving their time to cope with their responsibility at work.

For the parents, they don’t have enough time to prepare the food for family and for working women it is hard for them in balance between family and work. Therefore, the easiest alternative is to buy a food outside which the nutrition and hygiene of that food can be questioned. According to Paltrier and Alaska (201 2), constraints in time stressing , working people and modern family might substitute time-saving options which the priority to eat food rather than emphasize the nutritional values that are supposed to be the heart of concern.

Culture certainly has a big influence on behaviors leading to weight gain. The concepts of personal well being such health, affluence, beauty, strength and prosperity are modeled and learnt from society at large according to Amounts (1994). As such, culture and society that accepts overweight as favorable, would lead to behaviors that reinforces weight gain. Behaviors that lead to weight gain are influenced at various social levels such as peer groups, parents, partners, friends and authority figures, or socio-economic environment.

It is usual that people tend to eat the foods that are eaten by their family and friends for reasons such as having a sense of acceptance and belonging, compliance to authority. According to Sob (1 995), community must having consistencies in attitudes, beliefs and habits of diet and nutrition formed through learning . Other social influence variables in gender roles . The women tend to be tater,the life development such people tend to grow fatter as they age, and then decline as the bodybuilders.

One such cultural influence with regards to socio-economic environment is eating out. Eating out has become popular as it is highly convenient for today’s modern household. French et al. (2001 ) says that eating out at restaurants and eating food prepared away from home has been found to be increasing in trend in the past 20 years. Local data shows similar trend not only in the urban but also in the rural area . Moreover, food prepared away from home tend to be larger in portion, as well as higher in fat ND energy.

This change in nutritional quality is a cause for concern as there is increasing intake of higher than needed energy consumption. Mass media influence plays a large role in eating out behavior by exposing messages that encourage food consumption, which leads to the increase Of food availability . On the other hand, people nowadays are more used to a sedentary life style. The evolution of modern technology has created machines that replace the human role in performing quite a number of daily chores. We are no longer walk to our destination due to the convenience of al sorts of transportation.

On the other hand, more sophisticated and smart technology too influence people in using modern gadget make this situation become worse. According to Inorganic (2006), people nowadays move less frequent as more they now prefer spending time sitting in front of computers or using their cell phone to update their status in medial social such as faceable, twitter and many more. Furthermore, modern kids now prefer to play online game using their gadget rather than to get involved in the outdoors sports such as football, basketball, hockey and many more.

Therefore, according to Somatic (2014), a combination of sedentary life style and unhealthy diet is the main factor that contribute to the growing prevalence in obesity among Malaysian. From the influence factor of obesity, the government had come with some prevention on it under the 8th Malaysian Plan (PM). The government has been trying to promote local fast food industry by offering financial and training support to those Malaysian that interested . This situation indirectly increases competition among fast food companies and it changes the Malaysian appetite from traditional local delicacies to fast food respectively.

The result from this situation is the nutrition imbalance because fast food is incantation with high sugar and fat. According to Geek (2012), Malaysia has been experiencing an upward trend in term of the availability of calories from animal and having escalation of availability of sugar has from 28. 8 keg to 48. 7 keg between 1 967 and 2007. Even though this situation will pose a negative impact on the human health over a long term of consumption, it is not really highlighted.

According to Phantasmagoria and Pranks (2007), Malaysian was obscured by other element such as nice packaging, delicious in taste, attractive promotion and good service to increase people excitement in enjoying this type of food. People nowadays are more used to a sedentary life style. The evolution of modern technology has created machines that replace the human role in performing quite a number of daily chores. People no longer walk to our destination due to the convenience of all sorts of transportation.

On the other hand, more sophisticated and smart technology too influence people in using modern gadget make this situation become worse. According to Inorganic (2006), people nowadays move less frequent as ore they now prefer spending time sitting in front of computers or using their cell phone to update their status in medial social such as faceable, twitter and many more. Furthermore, modern kids now prefer to play online game using their gadget rather than to get involved in the outdoors sports such as football, basketball, hockey and many more.

Therefore, according to Somatic (2014), a combination of sedentary life style and unhealthy diet is the main factor that contribute to the growing prevalence in obesity among Malaysian. In other point of view, Malaysia was one of multi rattail that live in en nation. Even though every race has their own unique beliefs and practice, they celebrate the festival together without any problem. Usually in the festival Hair Ray, Chinese New Year ,Divalent and many more, they widely being practice an open house which it becomes a culture to all Malaysian.

According to Moravian and Mood (2012), people in Malaysia love to served a lot of their traditional food and people will take a chance to taste as many types of food as they can. Usually that kind of traditional food they only can find on that festival. For example,Hair Ray festival, Malay people like to SE coconut milk when preparing their traditional dishes. The other festival also in use of unhealthy ingredients for several traditional food like adding the coconut milk and using a lot of oil make the food unhealthy to be consumed.

Chon, (1984) says that, the risk of obesity will increased by taking a large amount of unhealthy type of food. According to the president of Malaysian society, Mood Small Nor (2014), Malaysian is ranked sixth in the Asia-Pacific region for obesity and diabetes. It shows that it is crucial to call for the government’s attention on this unhealthy development. It agreed by Mood, (2002) it provides a rough picture on the real situation happened in Malaysia where the modernization really brought the huge changes for all Malaysian in taking the food and influence the majority to practicing sedentary lifestyle.

As a result, Malaysian The Malaysia National Health Morbidity Survey 2011 (OHMS VIVO, obesity is one of the risk factors that play a main role in the increase of non-communicable diseases (NC) such as, diabetes mellitus, hypertension,and cardiovascular disease . This survey was run under the Institute of public Health. It is an authority to conducts every 4 ear to collecting data to provide trends on the prevalence of certain diseases and health behaviors.

The objective of the server was to provide health related community-based data and information so as to inform the Ministry of Health Malaysia in the review of health priorities, programmer strategies, activities as well as and the planning and allocation of resources. Therefore, the comparison with The Malaysian National Health Morbidity Survey 2006 (OHMS Ill) indicated that three-fold rise in the prevalence of obesity, from 4. 4% in 1996 to 15. 1% in 2011 which equates to approximately 2. Million Malaysian met the criteria for obesity.

Based on this figure, it shows that obesity has become a burden which it also include the increase in the prevalence of Nan-communicable disease (NC) respectively. According to Fissile et al (2014), obesity was categorized to reach the epidemic level and Malaysia was leading nation among the developing countries. Based on data from OHMS IV, Malaysia ranked top of obesity in South-East Asia country, placed sixth prevalence in Asia and ranked 39th worldwide. This alarming statistics indirectly tell that Malaysia actually facing far more serious health robber compared to other countries in the region.

The Malaysia Government under our Prime Minister Data’ Sir Mood Ninja bin Tune Hajji Abdul Raze was launched the Economy Transformation Programmer (HTTP) that plays a comprehensive effort to transform Malaysia into a high- income nation by 2020. The programmed focus on a few key growth engines that is the 12 National Key Economic Areas (Knees) which healthcare is one of the core factors as a driver of economic activity that has the potential to directly and materially contribute to a quantifiable amount of economic growth. To achieve the objective that has been set, it requires a productive nation to ensure the success of this programmed.

If the incident of obesity still in the arising trend and the people of Malaysia will be having potential to comply to NC, it will to slow down the journey to reach the aim of this programmed. According to Taylor (2006), the active and healthy people are needed in order to determine the high achievement and acquire success. National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Disease (NSP 2010-2015) was developed to battle the current crisis that prevalence of non- incommunicable diseases (NC) and NC risk factors in Malaysia which increase at an alarming rate.

TO achieve the Objective Of this plan, the main programmed that highlight is integrated and comprehensive service delivery. It was conducted under Non-Communicable Disease-I Malaysia Prevention (NCSC-I M) programmed which will focus more on primary care clinics are equipped to provide a full range of NC services, including promotion, preventive or wellness services, screening, ‘identification of risk factors’, intervention, treatment and rehabilitation.

As a result, 32000 clients had been purported at 496 NCSC-IM projects sites which in total, 55000 NC risk factor screening procedures had been undertaken between October 201 0 and December 2012. The NCSC-IM is a unique project where it plays an important role to design the community health volunteers and trains them the basic principles of healthy living, pathologically, and the epidemiology of NCSC. Apart from educating and advocating healthy lifestyles, they are also trained to conduct blood sugar tests, body mass index (IBM) and blood pressure measurements, and to read and interpret results from these screening tests.

As mentioned before, Coca-Cola will have to deal extensively with government agencies in making Vitango a success in Botswana. However, as has also been mentioned, the government in Botswana is unlikely to be very receptive to any reasoning from the management of Coca-Cola who are after all out to maximize shareholder wealth. Therefore, the company will have to deal with the government through an intermediary which is GAIN in this case.

The Global Alliance of Improved Nutrition can be considered a marketing intermediary in this respect inasmuch as its involvement is critical in persuading the government in Botswana to promote Vitango among its people. The Botswana government will listen to what GAIN has to say because GAIN is a non-profit organization. Once Gain has managed to convince the government of the effectiveness of launching Vitango, Coca-Cola will be well on its way to recouping the investment it made in developing the product.

GAIN has a lot of experience in this regard. The organization specializes in lowering the trade barriers in the area of products that address the problems of malnutrition and also in arranging public relations events that promote the uses of these products. When it comes to introducing Vitango in Botswana, public relations are the only promotional tools that are likely to have any effect. As mentioned before, a third world country like Botswana is unlikely to have many educated people.

At the very least, the segment of the population which is most suffering from the problems of malnutrition are unlikely to have the education necessary to read newspaper ads and they are also unlikely to have the money with which to purchase television sets. Therefore free-for-all public relations events are the ones to use in a socio-economic scenario such as this. However the government of a third world country like Botswana is unlikely to have the resources with which to bankroll expensive public relations campaigns. GAIN can certainly help in this regard and in the process play the role of a marketing intermediary for Vitango.

Initially Coca-Cola was marketing Vitango in the powdered form. In using the product in its powdered form, the consumers in Botswana would have to source the water on their own. However clean water is scarce in third world countries. Therefore, mixing polluted water with powdered Vitango could lead to harmful results which could lead to a tremendous backlash for Coca-Cola as far as its reputation is concerned. Therefore suppliers of water in Botswana are a major consideration for Vitango if it is to be sold in the powdered form. Coca-Cola does not have to worry about competition in this respect.

It is a true that P&G are developing similar fortified foods. But they are being marketed in other countries. So competition at the time of the case study is not a micro-environmental factor for Coca-Cola as far as Vitango is concerned. Marketing’s impact on individual customers Coca-Cola will have to charge high prices for Vitango. The company does not have a choice in the matter as a project of this kind is very expensive. As has been mentioned before, the company does have years and years of experience in developing foods of this sort. But that still does not guarantee that the product will be right straight away.

Passing government inspection is a huge issue in the industry and that adds an additional number of years to the already long development period of Vitango. Therefore the company will have to invest a lot and the fact that this is for-profit company makes it paramount for Coca-Cola to attach a price tag which will bring about a positive net present value for the whole thing in a reasonable period of time. However even reasonably pricing Vitango is not enough for the dismal socio-economic scenario that exists in Botswana. By the same token, the government does not have enough resources either with which to lend a helping hand in this regard.

If the government did have enough money, it could have lowered the trade barriers and arranged some sort of subsidies which would enable Coca-Cola to finance a lower price and at the same time get the money back. However the government in Boswana is simply not in a position to do it. Nor is it convinced that it should do so at the word of a for-profit company. Therefore, Coca-Cola will have to go on its own when it comes to pricing Vitango in Botswana. The effect on the individual consumers however will be anything but beneficial. They are already living in economically straitened circumstances.

The best they can manage is to get an adequate supply of cornmeal and rice at the very least. To expect them to purchase Vitango even at a low price is not sound marketing sense. However if GAIN and the Botswana government can persuade them that Vitango is essential they will of course have to purchase it one way or the other. What specifically will be the effects on the individual consumer are difficult to say. However, at the very least, the effect will be a negative one. That is certain. Deceptive practices, intentionally or unintentionally, might also be germane to the issue.

A quick reading of the case does not seem to indicate that even in the long term Coca-Cola’s motives in developing Vitango are anything but social and ethical. But there are other issues that GAIN and Coca-Cola might not be aware of such as the issue of obesity and over-reliance on fortified foods. According to the case, Vitango has high sugar, salt and fat content. That might solve the malnutrition problem in the short term but if it becomes a popular drink, then the customers will be repeat purchasing it over a long period of time at the end of which signs of obesity might start to become a problem.

Therefore customers might be lured by Coca-Cola and GAIN to try out Vitango for their kids’ nutrition problems, in the long term however, these two organizations might be condemning kids in Botswana to obesity in the future. In that respect they are certainly engaged in deceptive practices to the long term health detriment of their customers. More importantly, Vitango is very much a short term solution in the sense that it teaches the customers nothing about why they are suffering from malnutrition and what courses of action are available to them to remedy the situation.

Granted the people in Botswana might not even have the money to seek medical advice. But there are some things that they can do on their own to alleviate the problem of malnutrition. Given massive public relations campaigns financed by GAIN in combination with Coca Cola, the customers will have become dependent on the easy solution of drinking Vitango possibly to the long term loss of their physical and mental well-being, not to mention the extent to which they will be financially set back as a result of having to purchase the product repeatedly. This is not to say that the people in Boswana are better off without Vitango.

The point is that they will certainly have improved the health of their children by making them drink Vitango. However this is not a practice that should continue long term. They need to find out that that the causes of malnutrition are nothing but a few vitamin deficiencies and they have the ability to fix these problems on their own simply by growing some fruits and vegetables in their backyard. This will not only solve the financial problems of having to buy an expensive product like Vitango repeatedly, but this will also make the people of Botswana immune to the possible long term side-effects of consuming Vitango for too long.

Poor service to disadvantaged customers is also an issue as Vitango is now being marketed in the powdered form. That means that the water which will be used to prepare the drink will have to come from the public sources in Botswana. Sanitation in the third world is in a dire state world wide. The situation is no different in Botswana. Possibly one of the most important factors contributing to rampant malnutrition in Botswana is the poor quality of the drinking water. If that same drinking water is mixed with Vitango, then the whole point of the fortified foods will have been lost.

Therefore, if Coca Cola is selling Vitango in the powdered form, it raises the question as to what sort of service it is selling to an unknowing public. Planned obsolescence is an issue with Vitango. Coca-Cola and GAIN will have to educate the customers in Botswana about how long they should continue to use Vitango before throwing it away. The formula is necessary for only a certain period of time after which parents will have to discourage their kids from drinking it any longer.

In this case planned obsolescence is operating in reverse. The industry practice is that companies engineer their products in a way which makes those products break down after a certain period of time so that customers have to go shopping again. This is most observable in the computer industry where even a sophisticated system today becomes obsolete over a short period of time because the manufacturing company has decided to discontinue manufacturing hardware related to that system and started a new line of operation.

The same principle applies in Vitango. However in this case, kids’ health are at risk because if their parents continue using Vitango past expiry dates or past the point when their kids have outgrown the need for a product like Vitango, then harmful side effects will be the consequence. Therefore, both Coca- Cola and GAIN need to spread information about the obsolescence effect of Vitango.

The federal government used tariffs and consumption taxes to generate almost all of its revenue in the early years of our nation. The tax structure and philosophy has evolved and changed since the beginning of our nation, however the use of sin taxes has remained a good way for governments to raise revenues.

Sin taxes no longer provide a significant portion of federal or state governments; however they do provide a consistent stream of revenue. This paper examines the use of sin taxes in the United States. First, the paper provides a basic understanding of sin taxes, current definition, and history. Next, the paper outlines the goods and services most commonly targeted by sin taxes and provides information about the effectiveness of these taxes to raise revenue and accomplish policy outcomes.

Common goods and services targeted by sin taxes include; tobacco, alcohol, fuel, hazardous chemicals, gambling, prostitution, pornography, and unhealthy foods. Lastly, the paper will examine the ethical and moral implications of sin taxes from the perspective of those who support and oppose the use of sin taxes in the United States. Introduction Ben Franklin adequately stated the importance of taxes with his famous quote, “but in the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. Citizens have vested governments with the power to tax in order to provide services for the common good. There are many different ways for a government to tax its citizens in order to raise revenues, ranging from taxes on income, wealth, and property, to taxes on goods and services. The United States uses many of these taxes in varying levels to raise the needed funds to carry out government business. Some taxes are generally accepted and uncontested, while others are highly politicized and hard for Americans to accept.

Presently, the federal government relies on income taxes for the bulk of its revenue whereas states and localities rely more heavily on other forms of taxes to raise money for their functions. The primary function of taxes is to raise revenue for the government, however governments have used taxes to help spark social change, punish those who partake of certain goods and services, or regulate the consumption of specific goods and services. In these instances, taxes move from matters of revenue to issues of social policy, acting as mechanisms to force certain behaviors from citizens.

More specifically, sin taxes have been used in the United States to help change behavior or regulate the consumption of goods and services deemed as sinful. In this paper, I will define sin taxes and outline the political meaning of “sin,” provide a brief history of sin taxes and their use, examine the most common forms of sin taxes in the United States, and lastly discuss the ethical and moral implication of utilizing sin taxes as a mechanism of social change. Sin Tax, a Definition

Before considering the implications of sin taxes and their influence on the behavior of Americans, it is important to define the term. Taxes, most generally, are levied by governments to raise revenue in order to conduct business in the public interest. The United States, utilizing a progressive income tax to raise the bulk of its revenue, possess a culture where citizens pay most of their taxes on time. (Mikesell 493) This system is not one that commonly uses taxes as a punishment, instead encouraging its citizens to pay their taxes for the common good and success of the nation as a whole.

Noncompliance is low, and the government has even employed strategies to enhance payment, such as instruction and assistance. (Mikesell 494) Sin taxes, however, do not take this positive approach to raise revenue, instead, governments use their powers of taxation to punish behaviors when utilizing sin taxes. Most commonly, sin taxes are excise or consumption taxes that charge fees for guilty pleasures or human indulgence. Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 60) Sin taxes, therefore, are intended to encourage citizens to consume or use taxed items responsibly or discourage behavior associated with the consumption of taxed items. Goods or services generally taxed through sin tax policy have some common characteristics including inelastic demand, promote behavior that is harmful to the individual, and promote behavior that is harmful to others.

Goods or services targeted by sin taxes have an inelastic demand because they are generally habitual, addictive, or highly pleasurable. Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 60) Further, these goods or services are targeted by sin tax legislation because consuming or utilizing the good or services can lead to self-destructive behavior, negative consequences for communities, and generally are considered socially undesirable. Thus, sin taxes are not prohibitive; citizens are allowed to consume targeted goods and services as long as the tax is not steep enough to make consumption of the good or service impossible. Viscusi 556) Further, the voluntary nature of sin taxes is generally more tolerable than involuntary nature of income taxes. (Schmidt, Barr and Swanson 1677) The most confusing and controversial element when considering sin taxes is the definition of sin.

This word can be highly political and misleading, automatically making most think of sin in religious terms. However, sin, in the context of sin taxes, refers to addictive, self-destructive, and socially undesirable, behavior from the consumption of goods and services without crossing into religious doctrine. Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 60) In this context, then, sin is behavior that is undesirable enough to be targeted by taxes as a form of regulation or determent, but not so socially unacceptable to be illegal to the public. (Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 60) Therefore, sin taxes should not be considered as forms of punishment for poor consumption choices, but instead be a catalyst to foster sounder and safer decisions. (Viscusi 547) However, this can be a slippery slope, the limited use of taxes on goods and services deemed as sinful could grow and encompass others outside the scope of sin.

Sin Tax History Sin taxes have a long history, originating with religious doctrine and the power of organized religions to collect fees. Popes levied the earliest forms of sin taxes on prostitutes, brothels, and the sale of indulgence to raise money for religious projects. (Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 59) Laws required prostitutes to designate half of her property and fortune to convents, and brothels were taxed continuing through the 16th century. Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 59) Further, Russian Czar Peter the Great imposed fees on the length of beards to tax vanity, and the Puritans used sin taxes to curb extravagance. (Lorenzi, Sin Taxes 59)

The United States has a long history of utilizing taxes on socially undesirable goods and services to fund the government. In the early years of our democracy, the federal Government derived almost all its revenue from consumption taxes in the form of duties on imports and excise taxes on liquors and tobacco. American Economic Association 50) This tradition was set early when Congress enacted excise taxes on tobacco and snuff, refined sugar, distilled spirits, carriages, and property sold at auctions in order to finance the debts incurred during the Revolutionary War. (Hines 51) However, these taxes were not well received by a public that was over taxed by the British government and violent protests, in what was later coined the Whiskey Rebellion, resulted in the abolition of many unpopular excise taxes during the Jefferson Administration. Hines 52)

The War of 1812 and the Civil War both required the federal Government to raise revenue and as a result old excise taxes were reinstated as well as taxes on gold, jewelry, silverware, watches, playing cards, feathers, patent medicines, billiard tables, leather, telegrams, yachts, and many other luxuries, however these taxes were quickly repealed once the wars were over. (Hines 62) The federal Government was permitted to levy a personal income tax with the 16th Amendment, which became the main source of revenue in 1913. Hines) Federal excise taxes did not completely disappear during this time; however prohibition severely limited the possible revenue of excise taxes before the Depression.

The repeal of Prohibition and expansion of excise taxes on luxuries during the Depression helped to finance the increased federal spending of the New Deal Programs totaling more than 15 percent of the federal revenue in 1933. Hines 52) The expansion of programming during and following World War II required higher income taxes, fully transferring the bulk of government revenue away from excise and consumption taxes to the system we employ today. (Hines) The federal government still utilized some consumption and excise taxes, however these were limited to those goods and services mostly deemed socially undesirable, or sin taxes. Popular Goods and Services Taxed as “Sin” Tobacco and Alcohol The scope of goods and services targeted by sin taxes is limited in American society.

The two oldest and most widely targeted goods are tobacco and alcohol. As evidenced in the history of sin taxes, alcohol and tobacco have been taxed to finance federal and state governments, particularly in slow fiscal times or to raise money for major legislation or wars. These goods have been targeted by sin tax legislation because they have the potential to raise money rather quickly, have been relatively accepted as sinful, and have direct casual relationships with health or social problems. Hines 63) Further, it is easier for governments to justify taxes on tobacco and alcohol to the public since both goods tend to have negative consequences for the public at large. Legislators can disguise taxes on tobacco and alcohol as regulations to help protect society from the health and social consequences resulting from overconsumption of these goods while requiring those who consume tobacco and alcohol to finance the consequences of their consumption choices. (Boyd and Seldon 365) Thus, in times of increasing taxes it is easier and more popular to increase taxes on goods instead of taxes on income.

Cigarettes have been a major target of sin taxes in most recent history as the health risks have been widely publicized. In order to combat cigarette consumption, the federal government and many states have levied taxes on the production and/or sale of cigarettes. The rationale behind this tax is quite simple, those who partake in the pleasure of smoking should help pay for the health care required resulting from their choice. (Gruber 203) Today, all states and the federal government impose an excise tax on cigarettes, and these taxes are increasing as governments try to balance their budgets. American Medical Association 1909)

Cigarette excise taxes are widely accepted in public opinion, the hazards of smoking have demonized the industry and those who choose to purchase the products. (Gruber 194) Utilizing sin taxation to regulate consumption of tobacco has been highly effective, according to the CDC, “A 10% increase in the price of cigarettes can reduce consumption by nearly 4% among adults and can have an even greater effect among youths and other price-sensitive groups. (American Medical Association 1909) Sin taxation on alcohol, while a widely targeted good, seems to be less popular and publicized in popular media. Taxes on alcohol tend to be lower than those on tobacco, and many states handle the sale of alcohol differently (alcohol license tax, state operated liquor stores, etc. ), making the tax less visible to the public. (Johnson and Meier 580) Further, it is harder to gauge the effect specific liquor, beer, and wine taxes have on consumption.

For example, higher taxes increasing the price on one might cause consumers to substitute to another, more affordable alternative, such as substituting wine with beer. (Johnson and Meier 591) However, studies show increased prices on alcohol as a result of taxation have affected alcohol consumption rates to an extent even if it is minimal. (Boyd and Seldon 365) Sin taxation on both tobacco and alcohol have seemed to decrease the consumption of these goods while raising revenues for state and federal governments, however little attention is given to other factors affecting decreasing consumption rates.

The American public has been flooded with messages about the dangers of smoking and national campaigns have worked to warn Americans to stop smoking, helping to decrease cigarette consumption in the United States along with the steep sin taxes increasing the prices. Further, many cities and states are adopting smoking bans in public places, limiting the accessibility of facilities for smokers. Also, there are very few substitutes for tobacco products, forcing smokers to either pay the tax or consume less.

Political movements and tougher legislation against behavior resulting from alcohol consumption might be affecting consumption rates just as easily as increased prices resulting from sin taxes. Taxes on alcohol and tobacco can also increase production costs, causing producers to utilize their resources to raise other commodities that are not as heavily taxed, decreasing the overall production of tobacco and alcohol products. Boyd and Seldon 370) Further, lower consumption rates may not mean that consumption is actually dropping if consumers are turning to affordable black market substitutes. (Johnson and Meier 591) Environmental Americans have become increasingly accustomed to sin taxes that will help promote safer environmental practices and sustainability. Increased understanding of environmental factors surrounding pollution has increased the need for governmental regulation of emissions. As a result, the federal government has levied taxes on goods and services that contribute to pollution.

The most common of these taxes is that on fuel; gasoline and diesel. Sin taxes levied on gasoline are intended to discourage driving and reduce pollution as well as traffic congestion in the process. (Hines 52) This tax is easy for government to justify since the majority of funds raised from the tax are spent on highway maintenance and construction. (Hines 52) While this tax may not have been enacted with “sin” regulation in mind, environmental regulation helps to justify it now, putting it in the “sin” category.

Environmental sin taxes are not limited to fuel; they are also levied on gas-guzzler cars, heavy road vehicles, highway-type tires, and all forms of air transportation. (Hines 53) Ozone depleting chemicals also present an opportunity to tax environmental sin. Not only does the federal government limit the use of these hazardous chemicals, they are also taxed. (Hines 53) The strict regulation and higher taxes on these chemicals has severely reduced their production and use, almost making the usage limits irrelevant. Hines 53) In the future, scaled taxes on specific chemicals could help further reduce their use and potential harm to the ozone, however the federal government has not utilized sin taxes thoroughly enough to enact further environmental regulation. Gambling, Prostitution, and Pornography Gambling is a service that has been a target of sin taxes since the early years of our nation, easily defined as a sin but harder to single out and tax since it is not a good. The federal government has not taxed gambling with the same enthusiasm as tobacco, alcohol, or fuel taxes.

Taxing gambling in the United States is tricky, Native American and state sponsored gambling is tax free, and setting gambling taxes too high can cause taxpayers to turn to alternatives, such as illegal gaming establishments. (Schmidt, Barr and Swanson 1682) Further, it is harder for consumers to feel the effects of gambling taxes since most tax costs are not directly funded by service prices. Instead, most sin taxes are levied on the gaming establishments in the form of license agreements for specific games or total revenue. Schmidt, Barr and Swanson 1687) Thus, gambling taxes do not technically raise the cost of the service and encourage citizens to make better decisions, instead gambling establishments bear the majority of the burden of the tax cost. While gambling sin taxes are hard to levy on individuals for regulation, they can be a tool to monitor and stop organized crime through IRS oversight. (Schmidt, Barr and Swanson 1681) Prostitution and pornography are equally difficult to tax, each for their own, separate reasons.

Prostitution, while generally considered immoral, is legal in some states and on paper is considered victimless since it is a consensual act between two adults. (Lorenzi, Taxing Antisocial Behavior for the Common Good 331) Further, taxes in this industry generally are levied on the establishment, much like gambling, and if the tax becomes too high, consumers will look for substitutes, generally illegal. Pornography is equally as difficult to tax, since so much of this product is available online.

States are still trying to figure out how to charge a sales tax on online purchases, rather unsuccessfully, and pornography is no exception. Thus, taxes on this industry are limited to taxes on producers and networks, not individual consumers. (Lorenzi, Taxing Antisocial Behavior for the Common Good 331) In the end, taxes on prostitution and pornography are not as readily apparent to the consumer as with tobacco, alcohol or fuel, reducing the individual deterrent qualities of a sin tax on these goods and services. Fat Taxes

Obesity rates in the United States have been rising, and as a result so have health issues and healthcare costs. (Chaufan, Hong and Fox 87) In recent years, state and federal governments have debated utilizing sin taxes to raise the cost of purchasing calorie dense foods with no nutritional value in order to deter consumption. However, these “fat taxes” are not new and have been present since the 1920’s. (Creighton 127) They are gaining in popularity as the obesity epidemic continues to cause widespread health issues.

These unhealthy goods are particularly targeted by health officials because they are most commonly marketed to kids, and children who develop poor eating habits when they are young and more likely to become obese as adults. (Fletcher, Frisvold and Tefft 968) Thus, with evidence from the tobacco industry, sin taxes on unhealthy goods would seem to be a good method to encourage healthier food purchases. Further, taxing these goods could provide huge revenue increases for federal and state governments since the unhealthy food industry profits are similar to those of the alcohol industry. Fletcher, Frisvold and Tefft 968) Utilizing taxes as a mechanism to change behavior has not been as successful for curbing obesity. Taxing soft drinks has proved to discourage consumption, particularly for children and groups with limited spending capability. (Fletcher, Frisvold and Tefft 972) However, changing behaviors that lead to obesity takes more than just cutting specific foods out of a diet. For example, diets high in caloric intake can cause obesity regardless of where the calories are coming from if a person does not get enough exercise.

Curbing obesity almost requires a personalized plan for each individual, focusing not only on their diet, but also exercise habits, genetic makeup, and lifestyle. (Chaufan, Hong and Fox 88) Simply targeting one factor does not help fix problems with the other factors. Further, there are too many substitutes for unhealthy junk food, allowing citizens to continue to make poor health choices, even if we target certain goods. (O’Donoghue and Rabin 1841) Ethical and Moral Considerations of Sin Taxes

Sin taxes can be a valuable tool for government to raise revenue and help shape social policy. However, adding morals and values to a tax requires ethical and moral considerations above those of most other forms of taxes. These taxes are levied with a specific policy outcome in mind, yet sometimes it may be difficult to separate the government’s interest in raising revenue with the government’s overarching policy goal. Since these taxes generally have some sort of stigma attached with the goods or services taxed, it is also important to ensure these tax policies are enacted for the common good.

Sin taxes have been the target of moral and ethical discussions mainly because it is hard to decide what exactly constitutes a sin. Disputes arise as legislators decide what goods and services need to be regulated for the public wellbeing. While many of the goods and services taxed as sin have historically been deemed evil, immoral, seedy, or bad; discourse about who decides these products deserve to be regulated and taxed above and beyond other goods and services must be evaluated. This seems to be the central moral question surrounding sin taxes.

Should a minority of the population have to pay an extra tax to support the government simply because they partake or utilize a specific good or service? Taking this question a step further, sin taxes have the potential to raise large revenues, so is it ethical to make a few pay for government services for all? Who gets to decide how these funds will be spent, and who or what will this spending affect? (Green 70) The last overarching question surrounding the sin taxes focuses on the government’s power to tax, namely, can the government use its power to tax to shape and enforce social policies?

Those in favor of sin taxes would argue there are many reasons why it is moral and ethical to require consumers who purchase these particular goods and services to pay more than the average taxpayer. Namely, sin taxes target goods and services that cause negative consequences for the public at large. (Green 68) These could be increased health care costs or higher demand for social services. It is logical, then, to require these consumers to pay more since they are directly contributing to higher government costs for all.

Not only is it logical and moral to require these consumers to pay more for the added costs as a result of their consumption, higher taxes can help them make better, healthier choices. Sin taxes have been proven to reduce the consumption of specific goods and services, helping to create sustainable, prosocial behaviors for the future. (Lorenzi, Taxing Antisocial Behavior for the Common Good 328) Sin tax policies can help deter and regulate antisocial behaviors as a result of consumption of sin goods and services while simultaneously raising revenues to pay for the programming needed to help those affected by this behavior.

Further, sin taxes raising money on the backs of those partaking in antisocial behavior reduce the need to tax prosocial behaviors. For example, revenue generated from sin taxes can be used to fund government business, reducing income tax costs for the larger population. (Lorenzi, Sin Taxes) Targeting these immoral behaviors and using them to fund governmental operations ensures those engaged in prosocial behavior are not bearing a larger share of the cost of government. This is an attractive and easy sale to the public since higher taxes make all citizens unhappy.

Sin taxes on paper are extremely regressive, and as a result unfavorable to many. However, lifetime incidence studies prove the effects of these taxes on lower income taxpayers is about equal to those in middle or higher income households. (Poterba 327) Those who oppose sin taxes see the value they bring to both government revenues as well as the common good; however these positives do not outweigh the negative ethical and moral implications. First and foremost, opponents of sin taxes believe it is immoral for the government to rely on funding from the very behaviors it has deemed sinful and therefore is trying to regulate or change. Lorenzi, The Moral Grounds of Sin Taxes 68) Opponents see sin taxes as a stepping stone to banning certain goods and services, which should be a social policy decision supported by the public, not forced on them through prohibitive taxes. (Viscusi 547) Opponents therefore do not believe taxes should be used as a mechanism to enforce social policies or enact social change. (Creighton 135) In essence, the government is taking away the individual’s autonomy, legislating they should not purchase certain goods and products. (Green 72) This is a difficult issue to balance, Americans value independence and the freedom to choose.

Further, sin taxes are regressive, putting the large burden of payment on those with the least ability to pay. (Hines 65) In slow economic times, when governments tend to raise sin taxes to help close the revenue and expenditure gap, sin taxes could actually hurt the economy, pushing these citizens to the end of their economic resources. (Johnson and Meier 582) In the end, the same population the government is targeting to raise the revenue would be the same population in need of government services once their resources were depleted.

Further, utilizing sin taxes as a form of punishment or regulation directly competes with the message of the general tax code, namely, every citizen has the obligation to pay their taxes and support the government. The United States evolved their tax system from one based on consumption and tariffs to one based on taxing income based on the ability to pay. Sin taxes do not fit fairly into this carefully crafted tax structure we use today, sending the public mixed messages about citizen’s role in the taxation process. Lastly, opponents of sin taxes are skeptical if they are actually reaching the policy outcomes intended.

Studies show increased prices on certain goods and services reduces consumption, however there could be many other factors contributing to the decline in usage. For example, reduced consumption might be a result of heightened public awareness about the health risks, greater access to prevention and rehabilitation, harsher criminal legislation surrounding a specific behavior, or any number of other factors. Further, sin taxes on some goods, like unhealthy foods, really do not work at all since there are so many additional factors that might be contributing to the issue. Chaufan, Hong and Fox 87) Opponents also are skeptical sin taxes even reduce consumption since the presence of similar or equal substitutes might encourage consumers to find these goods and services elsewhere, such as illegal gambling establishments or black market cigarettes. (Johnson and Meier 591) The availability of substitutes could in turn create greater antisocial behavior and costs to the government in the form of criminal investigation, prevention, and added health risks from unsafe goods and services. Conclusion

Taxes are an inevitable fee all must pay to support the government. Citizens vest the power to tax with governments in return for government services. Governments take the power to tax a step further with sin taxes, not only raising revenue but also enacting or enforcing social policy. Sin taxes have been used successfully throughout history, particularly when citizens unanimously agree a sin exists. Sin taxes have also been successful in regulating or curbing consumption resulting in antisocial behavior as well as generating revenue.

On the surface, it would seem as if sin taxes are a great way to raise revenues and influence or enforce social policy. However, there are many ethical and moral implications surrounding sin taxes. Digging deeper into the positive and negative consequences of these taxes sheds light on the inherent problematic nature of the tax, and leads to questions about its place in the American tax structure. Legislators must be cognizant of these moral and ethical questions before deciding to enact taxes that could potentially be discriminatory to some members of society.

These taxes should be evaluated on a case by case basis, with clear and measureable policy outcomes included in the evaluation. Policy outcomes that are not easily measured may not be the best use of sin tax influence for social change. In the end, taxes on goods or services labeled as sinful have great potential to raise revenue, and as a result these taxes are popular to help close revenue and expenditure gaps. Perhaps sin taxes are a great case study for tax structures based on consumption instead of income. Hines 69) Sin taxes target consumption, and this seems to work well to raise revenue for the government. Many of the ethical and moral questions surrounding the use of sin taxes to influence social change could be eliminated within a tax structure based on consumption; however this shift would be a major tax reform in the United States. This may not be the answer we are looking for, yet sin taxes provide a window in which to examine tax policy, and possibly change the way our tax structures work in the future.

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MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2010. Boyd, Roy and Barry J. Seldon. “Revenue and Land-Use Effects of Proposed Changes in Sin Taxes: A General Equilibrium Perspective. “

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Chaufan, Claudia, Gee Hee Hong and Patrick Fox. “”Sin-Food” Taxes and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages–The Right Policy For the Wrong Reasons? ” American Journal of Health Promotion 25. (2010): 87-90.

Creighton, Robert. “Fat Taxes: The Newest Manifestation of the Age-Old Excise Tax. ” Journal of Legal Medicine 31 (2010): 123-136.

Fletcher, Jason M. , David E. Frisvold and Nathan Tefft. “The Effects of Soft Drink Taxes on Child and Adolescent Consumption and Weight Outcomes. “

Journal of Public Economics 94 (2010): 967-974. Green, Rebecca. “The Ethics of Sin Taxes. “

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(2010): 68-77. Gruber, Jonathan. “Tobacco At the Crossroads: The Past and Future of Smoking Regulation in the United States. ” Journal of Economic Perspectives 15.

(2001): 193-212. Hines, James R. Jr. “Taxing Consumption and Other Sins. ” Journal of Economic Perspectives 21.

(2007): 49-68. Johnson, Cathy M. and Kenneth J. Meier. “The Wages of Sin: Taxing America’s Legal Vices. ” The Western Political Quarterly 43.

(1990): 577-595. Lorenzi, Peter. “Sin Taxes. ” Social Science and Public Policy 41. 3 (2004): 59-65. —. “Taxing Antisocial Behavior for the Common Good. ” Society 47. 4 (2010): 328-332. —.

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Mikesell, John L. Fiscal Administration. Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth, 2007. O’Donoghue, Ted and Matthew Rabin. “Optimal Sin Taxes. ” Journal of Public Economics 90 (2006): 1825-1849. Poterba, James M. “Lifetime INcidence and the Diatributional Burden of Excise Taxes. “

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Glucose is a sugar that comes from the breakdown of all carbohydrates in the diet, and is very soluble in water. The chemical formula for glucose is C6H12O6. Glucose is a vital part of brain function as it is the only fuel that your brain can use. If you are consuming a low-carbohydrate diet, you may not be getting enough glucose for your brain to function properly. Because your brain ultimately controls all other functions within your body, giving your brain too little glucose can be dangerous to your overall health.

Also, overconsumption of sugar in the body can lead to unpleasant phenomena. According to biochemistry Reginald Garrett, Ph. D. and Charles Grisham, Ph. D. the first major side effect of glucose overconsumption is a sugar high (hypoglycemia), which feels a bit like a caffeine buzz, because glucose absorption occurs really fast in the body when partaking too much sugary foods. Diabetes is a very scary and progressive disease, which can result a serious social problem and an economic burden on a person who has this kind of disease.

Collective efforts are needed to improve both the level of knowledge about the disease and the outcomes of patient management. Therefore, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) aiming to increase the level of knowledge about diabetes and to determine both appropriate uses of blood glucose monitoring and appropriate measures required to accurately assess the performance of this practice. The first goal of ADA is to identify critical elements of a proper clinical trial of self-monitoring of blood glucose in type2 diabetes.

According to American Diabetes Association, a person who has type 2 diabetes or a non-insulin-dependent has a lot of complications because their body can’t use the insulin properly but their pancreas produces too much insulin. So, when the body can’t use enough insulin and there is too much insulin in the body, the glucose or the sugar will build up in the blood instead of going to the cells.

When these things happen, the cell of the body can’t function properly because the cells need sugar for the energy. There are some problems found when the glucose build up to the blood and it include the following: first is damaging of the body, where the high glucose (sugar) levels in the blood damage the nerve and the small blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys, and the heart, and it can cause the hardening of a patients artery and it can lead into a sudden heart attack or maybe a stroke.

Second is the malfunction of the kidney when the high amount of glucose in the blood of a patient, and it can cause a frequent urination which a large amount of water will be lost in the body, this can cause of dehydration. Third is when a person can’t change the fluid that they lost or the person is not able to intake some fluids when they are very dehydrated, the patient becomes very sick and lead into diabetic come which is a life threatening complications.

There some cases that the symptoms are very mild and can’t be detected, in these cases the patients usually want to drink more liquid and they feel very thirsty, the patients feel exhausted at all time, they always feel nausea with the unclear vision, their skin is usually dry and flaky, when they get wounds it is very slow to get healed, and can’t feel anything on their hands and feet because of losing sensation.

From all these symptoms, only doctors can diagnose weather you are a hypoglycemic or hypoglycemic by conducting some test or measuring the glucose in the blood after instructing the patient not to eat for eight hours before the testing. This test is called glucose tolerance. There were an experimental studies and observational studies that too much intake of sugar in the body is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and too much sugar intake is associated with the development of obesity.

Although there’s no established RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for sugar, because as far as it’s known, sugar is not really needed for nutrition, compare to salt that has restrictions in taking it. All foods have some natural sugars, but sugar itself, the white or brown but the stuff in the cookies, is a purely optional taste sensation.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recommends that sugar make up no more than 8% of the daily intake of calories, but most. American adults take in twice that much. If you still consume sugar, it should be 12 teaspoons added sugar for a 2000 calorie per day diet, that is, no more than 40 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet. Remember that the daily limit of 40 grams refers to refined and processed sugars only.

There seems to be no limit on natural sugars. In these studies using the models called econometric of cross-sectional data on diabetes which is repeated and there are 175 countries participate for the nutritional components of food, these studies found that one can of soda is 150 kcal per person per day and it is increasing the availability of sugar and there is a relation with increasing of diabetes cases.

When they’re done with this testing and tried to control for other food types like; some meat, some fruits, some oils, and some cereals, monitoring the total calories intake, the overweight person and some obesity cases, some period effects, and some social economic like their income, their crowded places and a very low income. There was no other food typed that was yielding, important individual association with the total number of cases of a disease in a given population at a specific time after they were controlling the case for obesity.

According to this study, the sugar on diabetes was the biggest impact and it was not dependent of tending to sit about without taking much exercise and the usage of alcohol, there was an effect which is modified but it’s not that clear for obesity or for the diabetes. After all these reviews, the high sugar intake and the proportion of a population found to have diabetes, and the bearing of high sugar intake on overweight are being discussed.

The evidence is not accurate for the proportion of a population found to have diabetes was because of high sugar intake, but it doesn’t mean that taking too much sugar in the body is not important. Since the population of obesity in the world, and the case of diabetes is growing rapidly, there should be restrictions of sugar in the diet, and it is very important like the other restrictions of diet. In conclusion the requirement of screening is the screener need to show them that they like the benefit of screening.

It didn’t show that there is a clear benefit from the screening of the hyperglycemia or they called it glucose intolerance, mostly was women who are pregnant, and pregnant women who are at risk of caesarean section, and the disadvantage which is the acquired of the status of this disease. That screening was being argued on how to identify somebody who is at risk of succeeding non-insulin-dependent (type 2 diabetes) or a patient who is suspected to have that disease and undiagnosed is a good thing.