Are You Really Going To Tax Salmon And Dark Chocolate, Cameron?

Following from my earlier post today, via CCF here are some examples of foods which would be affected if Cameron's mooted fat tax becomes reality.

The tax applies to any food that is more than 2.3 percent saturated fat. Looking at the USDA's nutrient database, avocados appear to just miss the cut, but cashews fall under the tax. So do salmon, eggs, and dark chocolate.

Salmon, of course, is full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Dark chocolate is linked to lower blood pressure. Harvard calls eggs “a good source of nutrients.” And do these nuts think nuts clog arteries?

A tax may well discourage consumption of these products. And we’ve seen no credible evidence that a tax will do anything to boost the health of Danes.

This is true.

In fact, the jury isn't just out on the health benefits of restricting saturated fats, it's in the next town having a beer and a ploughman's and discussing if such a move could end up being damaging. As these four recent studies argue.

On physical activity and weight loss.

"In Framingham, Mass, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol...we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol,ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least, and were the most physically active"

On the danger to youth development.

"There is ... evidence of low intakes of several vitamins and minerals (including folate, zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron) amongst adolescents, particularly teenage girls, some of whom appear to be avoiding important sources of these micronutrients (e.g. milk and meat) in the mistaken belief that they are ‘fattening’. Dietary strategies to combat obesity must not prevent normal growth or development. Too much emphasis on body weight and body image might also promote eating disorders in this age group."

On the threat of resultant Vitamin deficiency.

"Standard interventions, like Pathways: a school based, randomized controlled trial for the prevention of obesity in American Indian schoolchildren, focus on reducing dietary saturated fat. This approach, as per the results of Pathways, has not been successful.

Saturated fat reduction may also contribute to a growing problem of fat soluble vitamin deficiency. Vitamin D3 deficiency has garnered the most attention, but deficiency in other animal fat derived vitamins (e.g. vitamin K2) is also of concern, and these may have implications for nervous system bone and immune system development as well as diseases like Type 1 diabetes mellitus or autism."

And on the consequences for diabetics.

"Addition of saturated fat and removal of starch from a high-monounsaturated fat and starch-restricted diet improved glycemic control and were associated with weight loss without detectable adverse effects on serum lipids."

Stupid idea, Dave. Put a sock in it.