Taming Obesity in Australia-The Proposed Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
By (Student name)
Institutional Affiliation (School)
Course Title (Class)
Instructor (Tutor)
Date Due
, 2
Taming Obesity in Australia-The Proposed Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
The proposed Introduction of Taxation on SSBs
The obesity-related price policy is one of the controversial cases in law that continues
to draw the attention of a diversity of stakeholders within the confines of Australians. The
policy is public health-related and elicited by observed need to tame the drastic increase in
rates of overweight and obesity in Australia. The policy seeks to respond to the state of
affairs by discouraging accessibility and affordability of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs),
recognized as the most basic contributors of weight-gain, leading to obesity.
In 2022, Australia was listed among top ten countries with highest incidence rates of
obesity and overweight across the globe. A snapshot of prevalence of these issues
demonstrated that 26% (1 in 4) children and adolescents aged 2-17 were obese or overweight
in Australia. In the same year, epidemiologic data showed that 66% (2 in 3) Australian adults
were obese or overweight, whereby 32% were obese and 34% were determined to be
overweight and not obese (AIHW, 2024). Projections depicted a direr situation in the near
future if no drastic measures are implemented to tame the situation, with survey data showing
that 72% of women and 63% of men had a wrist circumference indicating a high risk of
weight-related problems (AIHW, 2024). in 2018, the Australian government reported to have
spent $11.2b on obesity, which is expected to rise to $87.7b if nothing is done
(Commonwealth Australia, 2022). Data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2023) shows
that situation has grown consistently from 2007 to 2022.
Key Stakeholders in influence
One of the key stakeholders to this policy has been the citizenry, or the general public,
who will be directly affected by the policy. From the citizens, the policy has received mixed
response, characterized by 33-60% support. The low support is informed by the fact that the