Should Thailand tax junk food to help fight obesity?

[Jingthing]

Does Thailand attract fatalistic expats or do they turn that way here?

[StreetCowboy]

Does Thailand attract fatalistic expats or do they turn that way here?

I blame it on too much coffee

[Jingthing]

Anyway, the medical experts that are focused on these things seemed to have formed a kind of consensus that the number one target of social policy to attack globesity or shall we localize it as THAIBESITY, is ... SUGAR.

Hmmm, if you're into fat Thais ... that way, does that make you a Thaibesityphile?

[StreetCowboy]

Anyway, the medical experts that are focused on these things seemed to have formed a kind of consensus that the number one target of social policy to attack globesity or shall we localize it as THAIBESITY, is ... SUGAR.

Hmmm, if you're into fat Thais ... that way, does that make you a Thaibesityphile?

What were they focussed on five years ago? And what about five years hence?

Personally, I believe in moderation, so I drink a moderate amount of alcohol. Normally three or four times in the course of an evening.

Food, I can take or leave.

SC

[David48]

Anyway, the medical experts that are focused on these things seemed to have formed a kind of consensus that the number one target of social policy to attack globesity or shall we localize it as THAIBESITY, is ... SUGAR.

Hmmm, if you're into fat Thais ... that way, does that make you a Thaibesityphile?

Jingthing ... who are you talking to with this comment? "Hmmm, if you're into fat Thais ... that way, does that make you a Thaibesityphile?"

THAIBESITY ... Thaibesityphile ...

... it's just getting silly now.

.

.

[Jingthing]

Thanks for sharing, SC.

It's up to the Thais.

Obviously this stuff isn't priority one here anytime soon.

It seems very stupid to me to wait until something becomes an extreme crisis before you lift a finger. But that's normal human nature, I suppose.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[StreetCowboy]

Anyway, so back to the helpful guidance:

- Can you give me one, three, or five, recommendations that will help me shift the ten kilos that I feel I would not miss from my handsome and manly, yet perhaps somewhat portly, frame?

Obviously, recommendations that do not involve the participation of the Inland Revenue.

SC

[Jingthing]

Anyway, so back to the helpful guidance:

- Can you give me one, three, or five, recommendations that will help me shift the ten kilos that I feel I would not miss from my handsome and manly, yet perhaps somewhat portly, frame?

Obviously, recommendations that do not involve the participation of the Inland Revenue.

SC

Post on the "I'm Too Fat" forum and you will get a mouthful and more ...

This isn't a personal weight loss information topic.

It's about social policy for Thailand.

Cheers.

[StreetCowboy]

Anyway, so back to the helpful guidance:

- Can you give me one, three, or five, recommendations that will help me shift the ten kilos that I feel I would not miss from my handsome and manly, yet perhaps somewhat portly, frame?

Obviously, recommendations that do not involve the participation of the Inland Revenue.

SC

Post on the "I'm Too Fat" forum and you will get a mouthful and more ...

This isn't a personal weight loss information topic.

It's about social policy for Thailand.

Cheers.

OK. So there's nothing I can do to address the problem, but someone else ought to. Someone else who can reach into my pocket, and help me lose a few pounds. Or baht, in this case.

My understanding was that society was comprised of individuals, and the actions of society were the aggregation of hte actions of the individuals, but perhaps my idea of society is out of touch with modern bureaucratic thinking, and society is somehow separate from the people that have to live within it.

Personally, I would rather do my little bit towards consensus and voluntarily dealing with potential problems than rely on the iron fist and rapacious claw of the bureacrat and the revener.

SC

[Jingthing]

So you weren't really interested then, the question was just a setup for a political rant? Okie dokie.

[StreetCowboy]

So you weren't really interested then, the question was just a setup for a political rant? Okie dokie.

I asked for specific advice.

You said that this forum was about social response, not individual response.

I explained that in my opinion, society is the sum of its members, and I would rather be part of a social response based on voluntary participation, rather than social response based on the boot of bureacrat and the light fingers of the Chancellor.

The door is still open for suggestions on what I can do personally to reduce obesity in Thailand by one (myself) and perhaps two or three or four (my bses or potentially-obese family members).

In my opinion, the best thing that I can do is to cycle as much as I reasonably can. That option may not be open to my family members, for whatever reason. So I am actively seeking helpful suggestions.

SC

[Jingthing]

I have only so much tolerance for games, dude.

There is the "I'm Too Fat" forum totally dedicated for queries like that.

Also the political ideology thing has been already overdone on this thread, back and forth, I think more than thoroughly covered.

It could be the thread has in totally been played out. That would be OK. Some ideas were put out there. Who knows, maybe some ambitious young Thais in politics and/or medicine got some ideas from it. Hope springs eternal. Well, not really, but whatever!

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[StreetCowboy]

I have only so much tolerance for games, dude.

There is the "I'm Too Fat" totally dedicated for queries like that.

If it's not worth taking individual action, it's not worth taking societal action.

SC

[Jingthing]

Sure that could work ... for an example, the food customer takes the individual action and goes to the store and actually has a CHOICE to purchase healthier foods priced similarly to obesity promoting foods; and the social action part pushed the food industry to offer those choices. It's all good. Making progress!

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[StreetCowboy]

Sure that could work ... for an example, the food customer takes the individual action and goes to the store and actually has a CHOICE to purchase healthier foods priced similarly to obesity promoting foods; and the social action part pushed the food industry to offer those choices. It's all good. Making progress!

Right.

So next time that I go to 7-11 for a snack, what should I eschew?

Is it better to avoid pork sausages, or french fries?

Is the extra starch in English style chips better or worse than the extra cooking oil in french fries?

Is unsweetened fruit juice better or worse than semi-skimmed milk?

Is it OK to eat a banana before I go cylcing? After I go cycling?

Would they be taxed differently?

SC

[Jingthing]

Again, one more time, the last time, if you want specific nutritional advice (from amateurs, but heck, it's FREE), you are welcome to try the "I'm Too Fat" forum. I think it could also be useful to those consciously trying to NOT get fat in the first place if that is a concern.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[sustento]

Anyway, so back to the helpful guidance:

- Can you give me one, three, or five, recommendations that will help me shift the ten kilos that I feel I would not miss from my handsome and manly, yet perhaps somewhat portly, frame?

Obviously, recommendations that do not involve the participation of the Inland Revenue.

SC

Stop eating spuds, noodles, rice and bread. Simples.

[Showbags]

Are the 10 kilos man boobs ?

[robblok]

I am never sure about stuff like this. i see obesity as a problem but taxing stuff is usually not useful without the money that earned with tax spend on education and tv spots and such. More often taxing just means adding tax and feeling good they have done something about the problem, while only having increased the price of goods.

Obesity is something hard to counter, but the actions have to come from the persons themselves supported by true information from governments. (hard hard hard)

I am just in general anti tax but good information on the tv and a mentality change might be financed by it. But i would not trust any government really to use money they get from taxes for what it is supposed to be used for. Alcohol tax anyone.. bet that wont go to healthcare / cigarettes the same thing. Though to be honest I know of more then a few people quitting back home as smoking is too expensive.

[transam]

Sure that could work ... for an example, the food customer takes the individual action and goes to the store and actually has a CHOICE to purchase healthier foods priced similarly to obesity promoting foods; and the social action part pushed the food industry to offer those choices. It's all good. Making progress!

You sound like you could well fit into a ''Big Brother'' managerial position.

[cashpower]

You sound like you could well fit into a ''Big Brother'' managerial position.

I think so too. at the end of the day he would certainly create synergies in an effort to develop a value-added paradigm that leads to new scalable enterprise solutions

[Showbags]

^ what he said

[Ruin]

Shouldn't Western countries have done this a long time ago? Seems too late for most now.

[Jingthing]

Shouldn't Western countries have done this a long time ago? Seems too late for most now.

Yes and no. The countries with the existing high rates of obesity can help their obese populations lose at least some of the weight, even a 10 percent loss in body weight that is maintained often has dramatic health improvements, and of course those who are not yet obese can benefit from any PREVENTION measures. But of course, the earlier the better, and as Thailand has shown clear signs of being hit by the globesity epidemic in its earlier stages, much better to start NOW.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Jingthing

[StreetCowboy]

 

Shouldn't Western countries have done this a long time ago? Seems too late for most now.

Yes and no. The countries with the existing high rates of obesity can help their obese populations lose at least some of the weight, even a 10 percent loss in body weight that is maintained often has dramatic health improvements, and of course those who are not yet obese can benefit from any PREVENTION measures. But of course, the earlier the better, and as Thailand has shown clear signs of being hit by the globesity epidemic in its earlier stages, much better to start NOW.

 

You have a touching faith in the power of tax. I can assure you, as a drinker, that tax will make poor people poorer, but it will not significantly affect their diet until they are reduced to squalid poverty. I still insist on earning a lot of money, despite the disincentive that the Inland Revenue place on that, as well.

SC

[Jingthing]

As I have said so MANY times on this thread already, the topic of SOCIETAL action against obesity is NOT only about tax.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Jingthing

[transam]

As I have said so MANY times on this thread already, the topic of SOCIETAL action against obesity is NOT only about tax.

Your right, YOU want to control folks lives by money.

Nobody has a guaranteed life span no matter what they eat. Perhaps folk want to eat what they want and pop off happy cos they did or ate what they wanted. Your philosophy is burden the poor with more taxes and the well off can carry on doing and eating what they want...........

Big Brother thinking, I think.......

[Jingthing]

How is government pressure to force big food companies to at least OFFER healthier choices to consumers controlling people's lives, it's the opposite, it's supporting giving the people MORE POWER to control their own lives.

Big brother thinking, you call it? What do you call thinking that feels it's OK to let super powerful food companies do whatever they want, hide killer crap in food without warnings, not offer affordably priced healthy alternatives for the masses? I'm really asking. Have you got a label for that? The right wing ideologues crow on about freedom but these powerful commercial forces are in reality hurting the actual freedom of the masses to have realistic choices.

There is no perfection in any of this, certainly no perfect fairness or perfect freedom or perfect health, BUT when a segment of society has grabbed unreasonable POWER and created great physical harm to the people (yes big food business), the people through their government would be wise to fight back and take SOME of the power away from those interests.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Jingthing

[transam]

How is government pressure to force big food companies to at least OFFER healthier choices to consumers controlling people's lives, it's the opposite, it's supporting giving the people MORE POWER to control their own lives.

Rubbish..

Mrs.Trans eats nothing farang, but is putting on weight, eating Thai/Lao favourite dishes and does not drink booze. Why is she putting on weight ?

[Jingthing]

How is government pressure to force big food companies to at least OFFER healthier choices to consumers controlling people's lives, it's the opposite, it's supporting giving the people MORE POWER to control their own lives.

Rubbish..

Mrs.Trans eats nothing farang, but is putting on weight, eating Thai/Lao favourite dishes and does not drink booze. Why is she putting on weight ?

Yet again, her food plan can be looked at critically on the "I'm Too Fat" forum. This is about social policy here, not your personal problems. Cheers.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Jingthing