Dec
24
Tax snacks to raise money for obesity prevention, report says - Business Gazette(Childhood Obesity News)
Filed Under Childhood Obesity News
If lawmakers approve a snack tax, Maryland would be the only state to impose such a levy, said Jim McCarthy, president of the Snack Food Association, based in Arlington, Va. But a health ranking — released jointly in November by the American Public Health Association, Partnership for Prevention and United Health Foundation — showed obesity in Maryland increasing 122 percent in just two decades. Some of the report’s recommendations include making healthy food more available, increasing enrollment in government-funded nutrition assistance and education programs, improving nutrition and health education in the schools and increasing public awareness about nutrition and physical activity. Harrington said the snack food industry lobbied intensely against the bill, which he said was an effort to address the health problems caused by obesity. In case lawmakers do not implement a tax on sodas or snack foods to pay for the committee’s recommendations, Regan said the department has applied for $13 million in stimulus money for obesity prevention. Read Childhood Obesity
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