‘20pc fat tax needed’ for health boost

Britain would need to put a 20 per cent “fat tax” on unhealthy food and drink to improve the numbers of people suffering diet-related conditions such as obesity and heart disease, medical experts warn.

Such a move should be combined with subsidies on healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables, academics from bmj.com said.

The group released their findings ahead of the 65th World Health Assembly in Geneva from May 21 to 26, where prevention and control of non-communicable diseases will be key issues for discussion.

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Dr Oliver Mytton and colleagues at the University of Oxford said evidence suggests taxing a wide range of unhealthy foods is likely to result in greater health benefits than “narrow taxes”.

Extending VAT on unhealthy foods in the UK could cut up to 2,700 heart disease deaths a year, the researchers said.

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