Petition Taxes on unhealthy food to improve national health

In 2007, obesity cost the NHS £2.3bn and killed 3 times as many people as malnutrition worldwide. We are fast catching up to the USA as one of the most obese countries in the world and our future health and the health of our children are in danger.

I propose a tax on foods high in fat, salt and sugar and to use the money from this to make healthy foods cheaper than processed. This should include both foods in supermarkets as well as restaurants and takeaways and sweetshops.

This makes it easier for people on low incomes to buy healthy rather than cheaper unhealthy foods. It will also encourage food manufacturers to make their processed foods healthier as this will make them cheaper to buy.

By doing so, the average weight of the population should decrease, as should the country-wide rate of type 2 diabetes, CHD and multiple other diseases.