On occasion of World Obesity Day that is observed today, October 11, Anbumani Ramadoss, youth wing president of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party urged the government to take necessary steps to keep obesity among men and women in our state under control. He recommends that that a Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 40% should be levied on high fat foods and soft drinks.
Gujarat and Delhi have made an official announced to introduce tax on high fat foods. Kerala government has levied a 14.5% fat tax on high fat foods. The same should be followed in Tamil Nadu. Arvindh Subramanian committee has recommended in its report titled ‘Report on the Revenue Neutral Rate and Structure of Rates for the GST 2015’. It also stated that the central government should implement this recommendation. The committee also recommended that Tamil Nadu government should ban the sale of soft drinks and junk food near educational institutions.
There is an increase in the number of men and women who suffer from obesity in Tamil Nadu. A couple of years ago, in Tamil Nadu it was observed that about 14.5% of men and 20.9% of women are affected with obesity. The central health ministry points out that in the last decade, year on year, there is an increased in 28.2% in women and 30.9% in men suffering from obesity in our state.
People with obesity are prone to non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart ailments and blood pressure. Children too are not spared of obesity and issues related to obesity. It is found that one in four child in Chennai is obese. Doctors on the other hand share that unhealthy food habits, high fat diet, consumption of high sugar foods food with more salt, soft drinks watching too much of television without any physical excursive, reduced sports activities in schools are the major reasons for the obesity. Intake of food with high fat, high sugar content and drinks with high salt content, pizza, burger and junk foods should be controlled.
Sports should made compulsory in schools and time allocated for sports should be increased. In order to encourage physical activity, walking and cycling paths should be provided on our roads and more facilities for games and sports should be created. This will ensure that children are healthy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) too recommends the creation of the above mentioned facilities in one of its reports that is aimed at putting an end to obesity among children. This will go a long way in securing the future of the children of our state.
Gujarat and Delhi have made an official announced to introduce tax on high fat foods. Kerala government has levied a 14.5% fat tax on high fat foods. The same should be followed in Tamil Nadu. Arvindh Subramanian committee has recommended in its report titled ‘Report on the Revenue Neutral Rate and Structure of Rates for the GST 2015’. It also stated that the central government should implement this recommendation. The committee also recommended that Tamil Nadu government should ban the sale of soft drinks and junk food near educational institutions.
There is an increase in the number of men and women who suffer from obesity in Tamil Nadu. A couple of years ago, in Tamil Nadu it was observed that about 14.5% of men and 20.9% of women are affected with obesity. The central health ministry points out that in the last decade, year on year, there is an increased in 28.2% in women and 30.9% in men suffering from obesity in our state.
People with obesity are prone to non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart ailments and blood pressure. Children too are not spared of obesity and issues related to obesity. It is found that one in four child in Chennai is obese. Doctors on the other hand share that unhealthy food habits, high fat diet, consumption of high sugar foods food with more salt, soft drinks watching too much of television without any physical excursive, reduced sports activities in schools are the major reasons for the obesity. Intake of food with high fat, high sugar content and drinks with high salt content, pizza, burger and junk foods should be controlled.
Sports should made compulsory in schools and time allocated for sports should be increased. In order to encourage physical activity, walking and cycling paths should be provided on our roads and more facilities for games and sports should be created. This will ensure that children are healthy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) too recommends the creation of the above mentioned facilities in one of its reports that is aimed at putting an end to obesity among children. This will go a long way in securing the future of the children of our state.