Taxes on Food and Drink Not Enough to Combat Obesity Problems Say Experts

Exercise, taxes, a healthy diet? What exactly is the best solution to tackle the growing problem of obesity in Europe?

Well according to experts, food and drink taxes are not the way to encourage people to shed excess weight but could be effective if approached in a more holistic way.

At a panel debate in Brussels, organised by the European Policy Centre, the participants acknowledged that tax alone was not the only way to tackle obesity.

"The cost for the society due to the obesity epidemics is a burden for all of us and this has to be taking into account when talking about taxation and changing behaviour," said Roberto Bertollini, chief scientist and World Health Organization (WHO) representative to the EU.

"I think we need to address aggressively three components in food; trans-fat in food, sugar and salt in a way that promotes, not impose, change in nutrition habits," the WHO representative added.

Taxes on booze and cigarettes have been around for many years, but taxes on specific unhealthy foods and drinks, aimed at combating obesity, have only recently been introduced by some governments in Europe.