Witkos Maciej, Uttaburanont Michelle, Lang Christopher D, Arora Rohit
Chicago Medical School, Chicago IL, USA.
J Cardiometab Syndr. 2008 Summer;3(3):173-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-4572.2008.00012.x.
The purpose of this literature review was to identify and describe the cost of obesity, the contributing factors, and the use of taxation as a possible method of control of this epidemic in a Canadian setting. A review of the current literature found on the PubMed/MEDLINE services of the National Institutes of Health as well as an analysis of Web content was conducted. The PubMed/MEDLINE search identified 677 articles pertaining to Canada and obesity, 323 articles relating to price policy, 26 articles concerning obesity and taxes, and 29 articles about obesity, Canada, and cost (1964-March 2007). The cost of obesity in Canada has been estimated at $4.3 billion per year, although no yearly figures are available. The contributing factors of obesity in Canada are multivariate, ranging from dietary patterns and physical inactivity to the availability of high-calorie foods at a low cost and greater accessibility. No Canadian studies have been conducted on the use of taxes to curb obesity or evaluating food price elasticity. The available literature suggests that the use of taxes is a viable option to address the issue of obesity in Canada.
本综述的目的是确定并描述肥胖的成本、促成因素，以及在加拿大背景下将税收作为控制这一流行病的一种可能方法的应用情况。对美国国立卫生研究院的PubMed/MEDLINE服务上找到的当前文献进行了综述，并对网络内容进行了分析。PubMed/MEDLINE搜索识别出677篇与加拿大和肥胖相关的文章、323篇与价格政策相关的文章、26篇关于肥胖与税收的文章，以及29篇关于肥胖、加拿大和成本的文章（1964年至2007年3月）。尽管没有年度数据，但据估计加拿大肥胖的成本每年达43亿加元。加拿大肥胖的促成因素是多方面的，从饮食模式、缺乏身体活动到低成本高热量食物的可得性及更高的可及性。尚未有加拿大的研究探讨利用税收来遏制肥胖或评估食品价格弹性。现有文献表明，税收的应用是解决加拿大肥胖问题的一个可行选择。
