ACSH Criticizes Banzhaf’s Call for Fast-Food Calorie Disclosures and Taxes on Snacks and Beverages

The director of nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a non-profit “consumer education consortium,” recently wrote a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer responding to an opinion piece authored by John Banzhaf, an anti-tobacco crusader and law school professor who in recent years has turned his attention to obesity-related issues.

Banzhaf suggested on May 15, 2009, that the key to lowering the cost of health care is to “directly attack the major preventable causes” of chronic illness: “smoking and obesity.” He claimed that, at no cost to taxpayers, rates of obesity could be reduced by (i) charging the obese more for their health insurance; (ii) requiring restaurant chains to post the calorie and fat content of their offerings; (iii) mandating health
warnings in fast food outlets; (iv) prohibiting deceptive food advertising, especially promotions targeted to children; (v) changing food subsidies to support “healthier foods”; and (vi) imposing sales taxes on soft drinks and foods “containing mostly ‘empty calories.’”

Because a number of Banzhaf’s suggestions for reducing obesity were the same as those he proposed for reducing smoking incidence, ACSH contended that he erred by “assuming obesity and smoking can be treated the same way.” According to ACSH, posting calories and raising the prices of a few food items will not motivate people to “automatically choose a healthier diet.” ACSH contends that promoting healthier lifestyles and educating people about how to make healthier nutritional choices are the key to behavior modification. See Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 21, 2009.