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A recent publication by the medical Journal of Australia made a recommendation of a 10% tax on all junk food.

With Australia’s obesity rate now at 60% of Australians are overweight or obese.

The proposed introduction of a junk food tax is based on the findings by Monash University researchers established that junk food had the same misuse and costs to society as alcohol.

The proposed tax is aimed at changing the consumption habits by making the price point a determinant in deciding whether a purchase will take place.

The Federal Governments Preventative Health Taskforce also make a recommendation to introduce a tax against energy dense foods that takes into consideration “fatty” and “sugary” foods.

The Preventative Health Taskforce report also sited that the French Government was to increase their existing value added tax of 5.5% to19.6%, which will capture all foods high in fat, salt and sugar. The premise being that the tax would be applied to foods traditional perceived as being healthy, an example in Australia are the health/muesli bar market.

The great thing about this tax is it doesn’t have to discriminate, it is based purely on the fat, sugar and salt content of the processed food product.

So if their product is low in any of these nutrients, then their is nothing to worry about:))

The great things about the tax is:

1.Price affect demand based on peoples available money, with Australia credit card debt over 40Billion and house affordability creating mortgage stress, something has to give
2.Healthier options become more attractive as the price deferential isn’t as great
3.Big corporates like to maximise shareholder wealth so less demand = less $$$, so recipes will have to be adjusted to maintain sales levels.

However you really need to make junk food something consumed occasional rather than regularly so I would like to see a 50% junk food tax, a substantial increase to really effect buyer behavior.

This would be based on the products having the tax based on the % of fat, sugar and salt per 100gms being over an agreed amount. So instead of buying a chocolate bar every day, they may buy one every second or third day.

This would not impact on those suffering economic hardship as there are healthier cheaper options available.

With the world experiencing an of obesity epidemic and a society with our significant portion of overweight people, unfortunately there some apathy regarding the cost to your health.

Australia is officially the most overweight nation in the world, this officially happened a few years ago and it’s one statistic that we don’t want to be proud of.

According to the World Health Organization, globally there are over one billion overweight and more disturbingly 300 million people that are obese.

The universally accepted measurement for determining an overweight person is having our BMI of over 25 and an obese person has a BMI Of over 30. [BMI is calculated by dividing the person's body weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters–KG/in]

The seven major risks of being over weight/fat are;

1. Dying early, men and women respectively have been 81%, hundred 115% risk of early death between the ages of 40 to 70

2.Diabetes, it is universally excepted that having a waist circumference of 100 cm for men and 90 cm for women increases the risk of getting type II diabetes.

3.Heart disease, having a large waist circumference as mentioned above increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

4.Reduced Lifespan, Being 10 Kg Overweight Will Cut Three Years Off Your Life Span and 70s if you are 20 kg overweight.

5.infertility and pregnancy risks; women who have a BMI of over 28 have approximately 2 1/2 times more risk of infertility. They can also be complications during the pregnancy such as premature delivery gestational diabetes and cesarean delivery.

6.Illnesses and disease; fatty liver disease, can lead to diabetes and heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver,
sleep apnea, being overweight or obese can also lead to sleep disturbances whereby personal stop breathing numerous times per minute which can leave to heart attacks
if other illnesses include cataracts, stroke, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, gallbladder disease and osteoarthritis.

Ultimately it comes down to adopting a healthier lifestyle with healthy eating and increasing energy expenditure.

With energy drinks, caffeine and other stimulants consumption on the increase, are re we turning into a sleep deprived overworked society?
With the latest revelations about The AFL’s acceptance of caffeine loading by AFL players, is this setting a good example for those who look up to these players for inspiration.

Unfortunately energy drinks represent the strongest beverage growth segment worth a staggering $593 or 23% of the impulse market in 2009, with only soft drinks representing occupying the number one spot for highest market share according to Neilsen data

Just look at the growth in coffee on recent years, the good old international roast has been replaced with a cappuccino or latte on the way to work. Even McDonalds, not to miss out on the coffee revolution has European style coffee at there drive throughs and restaurants. (I’m yet be be convinced you can produce a great coffee from a manual)

The most disturbing trend are the number of children consuming energy drinks like there having a soft drink. Suddenly the regular 250ml energy drink such as V and Red Bull has grown in size.
Not to be out done Coke Cola released there own brand called “Mother” to appeal to the youth market, with a mega can at 500ml at a whopping 32mg caffeine per 100ml or 160mg of caffeine.

The real concern is that consuming this level of caffeine on a regular basis is not great for your health. The promotion of these products are so wide spread that even when you fill up at your local petrol station there are advertisements for these types of products.

The most disturbing part of our over reliance on stimulants is why.
Are we trying to gave it all, family life, friends, the McMansion, all the conveniences of modern life, mobile phones, home computers, video games, Internet accounts, stuff, new cars, long stressful hours in the office to pay for this stuff or the time spent using these new acquisitions.

Well something has to give and it’s your health, so are we on stimulant over consumption mode to squeeze more onto the day?

Last night had a Funny Fitness story about a Fitmate who had lost a substantial amount of weight over the past 12 months. Like most of us who have a resistance to donating old clothes that needed retiring, our Fitmate had a secret stash of original 80′s clothes.

Well after 20 odd years it was time to clear the wardrobe including numerous pairs of white coloured pants (very sexy). Just out of curiosity our fitmate decided to try them on. Well to their surprise the pants fitted perfectly, something that wasn’t possible over 12 months ago.

So while white coloured pants haven’t made a comeback yet, it’s great to see that modifying your diet together with high intensity bootcamp training can reunite you with your old clothes.

One important thing that people in general should be aware of with regards to the size of your waist is the increased risk of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.