Health Statistics > Obesity (most recent) by country

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

World's Fattest Countries
http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat.html

Denmark has become the first country in the world to impose a "fat tax" on unhealthy foods.

The move will place a surcharge on foods high in saturated fat. Butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed food will all be subject to the levy.

The aim is to reduce people's intake of fatty foods. But consumers have begun hoarding provisions ahead of the price rise and some scientists have suggested that it would be better to target people's salt or sugar intake.

The Nordic country introduced the tax Saturday, of 16 kroner (£1.85) per kilogram of saturated fat in a product.

The tax was approved by large majority in a parliament in March as a move to help increase the average life expectancy of Danes.

In September, Hungary introduced a new tax popularly known as the "Hamburger Law," but that only involves higher taxes on soft drinks, pastries, salty snacks and food flavorings.

The outgoing conservative Danish government planned the fat tax as part of a goal to increase the average life expectancy of Danes, currently below the OECD average at 79 years, by three years over the next 10 years.

"Higher fees on sugar, fat and tobacco is an important step on the way toward a higher average life expectancy in Denmark," health minister Jakob Axel Nielsen said when he introduced the idea in 2009, because "saturated fats can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer."

Linnet Juul says the tax mechanism is very complex, involving tax rates on the percentage of fat used in making a product rather than the percentage that is in the end-product.

Linnet Juul's organization is pressuring lawmakers to simplify the tax, but said he is unsure what will happen when the new, centre-left government takes office. AP

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fat-tax-on-food-aims-to-curb-obesity-2364715.html

Other countries are watching how the new Danish tax is received before possibly considering their own version of a “fat tax”.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/10/03/denmark-becomes-first-country-to-impose-fat-tax/

Denmark Institutes First-Ever 'Fat Tax'

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/30/denmark-institutes-first-ever-fat-tax/

The fat tax

SOMETIMES, Steven Levitt is too clever for his own good. After playing with obesity statistics en route to computing an optimal calorie tax, Mr Levitt opines:

But as long as we are having the conversation, if we want to blame the obese for global warming, those who engage in recreational exercise like jogging or biking for pleasure should surely be discouraged from doing so because of global warming.

Someone who jogs an hour per day burns an extra 1,000 calories daily … far more than an obese person. Such wasteful burning of calories must be discouraged if we are to save the planet.

I hereby call for the next president of the United States to pass legislation imposing a carbon tax of 10 cents per hour on all recreational burning of calories. To save the planet, we must encourage people to sit at home and burn as few calories as possible.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2008/05/the_fat_tax

Denmark imposes a "fat tax"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/501364/main20114505.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;1

(AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark has imposed a "fat tax" on foods such as butter and oil as a way to curb unhealthy eating habits.

The Nordic country introduced the tax Saturday, of 16 kroner ($2.90) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a product.

Ole Linnet Juul, food director at Denmark's Confederation of Industries, said the tax will increase the price of a burger by around $0.15 and raise the price of a small package of butter by around $0.40.

The tax was approved by large majority in a parliament in March as a move to help increase the average life expectancy of Danes.