Commentary: There is a better solution to obesity than so-called fat taxes

Are fat taxes the best way to promote health and alleviate or solve the problem of obesity?

It’s been a couple of years since I first took a look at this issue, so I wanted to take another look to see if changes have occurred in considering this a valid option.

Consider the case of Puerto Rico. A very harsh food tax is being considered there, where children would have to undergo a health screening to find out if they need to be signed up for a food and exercise regimen. If they do, they would need to show evidence of weight loss or their families would be taxed for being fat.

In the U.K., David Cameron is expected to announce that for the first time the full economic cost of alcoholism, drug addiction and obesity will be assessed. In the U.S., obesity rates per state are all more than 20%, with a few states even higher than 35%.

So it’s not surprising that this issue is still being wrestled with.

However, what’s interesting is that while some countries are still considering such taxes, there is now data that say this approach is not necessarily the solution, because a large driver of the problem is economic — better food choices are inaccessible to poorer people.

A wake-up call is needed to address obesity, but it appears it is time to look for alternative solutions to a fat tax. Instead of punishing bad behavior as our health formula, we can work to incorporate how good thinking promotes health.

I’m talking about more than the general recognition that positive thinking is better than negative thinking for our well being. From my own experience, I advocate a diviner kind of thinking.

I find Jesus’ advice to “take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink,” and his question, “Is not the life more than meat?” very helpful in finding balance in food consumption and weight gain.

It’s pretty radical advice when you consider that a significant portion of a person’s life revolves around food in one way or another — from the first thought of what to eat for breakfast, to what to eat during work breaks, to planning for dinner, to scheduling grocery shopping, to deciding what to indulge in along with entertainment. Food reminders are everywhere!

It’s interesting to note that these biblical admonitions are sometimes matched by secular advice not to make food the focus in mind-body workings. But doing this isn’t as easy as saying it.

What’s helped me most in this direction is learning that what we truly crave is divine substance — the sweet awareness of our deep relationship to the divine. That perspective, renewed regularly, isn’t as easily thrown off balance during day-to-day stressful decision-making situations that might otherwise encourage poor food choices. Our true sustenance and satisfaction is from God, and holding to this idea is a potent deterrent to thoughtless or unnecessary eating.

A deeper understanding and respect of our spiritual individuality can free us from an unbalanced emphasis on food, and give us a basis for self-control. And an added benefit is that we can naturally avoid food taxes even where they are being applied!

DON INGWERSON, a Christian Science practitioner, lives in Laguna Beach.