Fwd: What About the 66%?

What About the 66%? By Ian Cooper | Friday, May 25th, 2012 More than 66% of Americans are overweight — and 33.9% of adults in the U.S. are obese. By 2020, more than 75% of us may be fat. I had to put down my Big Mac with extra cheese and push my supersized order of fries aside to type this article today. (My hot fudge sundae will just have to wait until after my editor sees it.) The obesity epidemic has reached a level where it's affecting things like plumbing and public transportation... Hospitals across the United States are replacing wall-mounted toilets with floor models to support the weight of obese patients, according to Reuters. The Federal Transit Administration is requiring buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and breaking.  There's been talk about imposing a "fat tax" on the root of the problem: sugar-heavy soft drinks and processed and fast foods. A new British Medical Journal study says a 20% tax would help curb obesity: Economists generally agree that government intervention, including taxation, is justified when the market fails to provide the optimum amount of a good for society's well-being. [This] include[s] a failure to appreciate the true association between diet and disease, time inconsistency (preference for short-term gratification over long-term well-being), and not bearing the full health and social costs of consumption. Let's be honest here: People will not eat any better if you tax their burgers and milkshakes at a higher rate. And we certainly don't need some bureaucrat telling us which foods have been deemed "bad for us." Folks will continue to hit the drive-thru and buy the supersize portion... And as they look to weight loss drugs to regain control, savvy investors should look to this sector to line their pockets.