New proposals to tax sugary beverages and create stricter regulatory policies for restaurants are unlikely to reduce obesity, according to economic analyses published in the Cato Institute’s current issue of Regulation, something ACSH has been saying all along.
University of California, Berkeley’s Michael Anderson and Northwestern University’s David Matsa point out that the popular notion that consuming restaurant food — including fast food — is a major contributor to the problem of obesity in our country is based on correlations, which do not prove that such food actually causes the weight gain. They also argue that the majority of studies used to justify stricter restaurant policies, such as fat, sodium and calorie limits, do not consider that consumers might be gaining weight due to their own individual food preferences, which they would likely fulfill through other food sources if the policies are enforced. Similarly, California Polytechnic State University’s Michael Marlow and Alden Shiers also predict unintended consequences from soda taxes, such as substituting with newly created caloric beverages that will skirt the tax.
“It’s clear that taxing soda is futile,” says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.
“What is certain, at least, is that taxing fast food or sugary beverages will help to balance various state and local budgets without making a dent in the obesity problem,” adds ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. “No one is even bothering to promise that the funds collected will be used to fight obesity—thankfully, because such an assertion would be laughed away by anyone who knows what happened to the cigarette money obtained by the states over the past decade.”