Weighing in on the "Twinkie Tax"

The man who coined the phrase "yo-yo dieting" and who first floated the idea of taxing junk food thinks, "eating in America is like swimming in a tsunami. The best of intentions get pulled under by massive forces."

In a super-sized world where baby bottles have soft drink logos on them, and toddlers are encouraged to love Ronald McDonald, it's not news that people pile on extra poundage.

And it's not a uniquely American problem. An estimated one billion people are overweight. Obesity presents major health challenges to countries all around the world. Canada is no exception. We each consume over 40 kilograms of sugar a year and wrestle with weight problems just like our American neighbours.

Dr. Kelly Brownell - a world-renowned obesity specialist - first suggested a tax on junk food in 1994. The idea? Place a surcharge on foods that make us fat, and use that money to fund healthcare and educational programs. Seems simple enough.

But from the moment Dr. Brownell proposed the idea sixteen years ago, critics - who called it "the Twinkie Tax", "the Sin Tax" and "the Snack Tax" - have ridiculed it. They argue that he doesn't have a scientific leg to stand on - or accuse him of bringing Big Brother into their lives.

But Dr. Brownell is not easily dissuaded. He continues to argue the case for taxing junk food. He is the author of 14 books including, Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It.

He is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University, where he also serves as Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and he's founder and Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. He joined Michael from the Yale University studio in New Haven Connecticut.

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