Sugar Tax – Jamie Oliver you sir, are missing the point
November 2015 was an entertaining week in the world of health and fitness from the aspiring athletes at the IPC World Championships to the political and famous chef Jamie Oliver’s battle to impose a sugar tax.
Jamie Oliver is a hero of mine (I have loads of his books to back this up) but he has got this wrong. Charging people a sugar tax in the UK is all well and good but if you go to one of his restaurants and eat 6 million calories of food he is all good with that. Somehow I think he’s missing the point. By all means challenge government thinking but we need to hit classrooms not pockets.
Obesity amongst children is rising at an alarming rate and quite honestly it is short sighted to think that somewhere along the line we are not all going to suffer, whether it be through the NHS failing and taxes rising or inefficient workforce or on a more personal level.
Sugar Tax is not the answer
Our Governments need to empower local councils and local health boards to educate kids in as many environments as possible on both the importance of good nutrition and exercise. So allow local authorities to use fitness professionals to be a point of contact for people and re-educate people on how to use and cook fresh ingredients to make great food.
We need a change of thinking and quickly. A gastric band operation costs thousands of pounds but it does nothing to change the psychological reasons for why a person got there in the first place. A decent Personal Trainer or Nutritionist costs on average £2000 per person per year. I may be biased but it seems a lot more logical than going under a knife for an operation that doesn’t address why.
Education Jamie, Education Mr Cameron, Education Parents….it’s the only way we are going to see change.
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Changing the Perception of Normal
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Parliament voting today. Have your say on the ITV “This Morning” survey. http://www.itv.com/thismorning/hot-topics/should-there-be-a-sugar-tax