The Real Cost of Food: Can Taxes and Subsidies Improve Public Health?

Suboptimal diet quality is among the leading factors associated with death and disability in the US and globally. Strategies to address suboptimal diet focus on nutrition education through dietary guidelines and food package labeling. However, this approach places responsibility for healthier diets...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2014-09, Vol.312 (9), p.889-890
Main Authors: Mozaffarian, Dariush, Rogoff, Kenneth S, Ludwig, David S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Choice Behavior
Diet
Energy Intake
Financing, Government
Food - economics
Health Behavior
Humans
Nutrition
Nutritional Status
Public Health
Subsidies
Taxes
United States
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Summary:Suboptimal diet quality is among the leading factors associated with death and disability in the US and globally. Strategies to address suboptimal diet focus on nutrition education through dietary guidelines and food package labeling. However, this approach places responsibility for healthier diets on an individual's ability to make informed choices rather than addressing the complex, powerful environmental determinants of dietary habits. Not surprisingly, this strategy has fallen short, as demonstrated by the increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related illness. Here, Mozaffarian et al discuss some active policy interventions are needed to help individuals adopt healthier diets.
ISSN:0098-7484
1538-3598
DOI:10.1001/jama.2014.8232