France chews over tax to fight obesity

A proposal targets poor households' diets during a time of public discontent over declines in purchasing power.

Philippe Adamé, a Paris general practitioner, has seen a clear rise in obesity and believes it is a family concern.

PARIS // France, home of croissants, foie gras and saucisson, has been told to raise taxes on alcoholic drinks and fatty and sugary foods to stem a rising tide of obesity and plug a financial black hole in the national health service.

A report from inspectors submitted to the health and finance ministers recently recommends that excise duty should be increased on sweetened and alcoholic drinks, and the value added tax (VAT) on foods deemed "too fat, too sweet, too salty than strictly necessary" be raised from 5.5 per cent to 19.6 per cent. The authors point to the medical problems caused by being obese or overweight, notably high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, and describe how treatment will weigh on public finances.

"If the eating imbalances still seen today continue into the future, it is highly likely that the incidence of problems and chronic pathologies will increase ? and will make it harder to sustain financing of the national health service," the report said. Such fast foods as hamburgers, pizzas and sandwiches are potential targets, while saucisson, cured meats, mayonnaise and crisps could also be hit by higher taxes.

The proposals are controversial. These foods form a relatively large part of poor households' diets, and there is huge public discontent over the recent fall in purchasing power. Low wages undermine healthy eating, the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education said. In a June campaign, titled Fruit, Vegetables and Starch: An End to Conventional Thinking, the institute listed price as the first obstacle to buying fresh produce. "Purchases of fruit and fresh vegetables are very linked to household income," the institute said. In other words, low-income households buy less produce.

A national programme for nutrition and health encourages people to eat at least five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day, and to consume such starchy foods as potatoes, pasta and rice with each meal. Television advertising and a website support the campaign. Philippe Adamé, a Paris general practitioner, said when asked if he has seen a rise in obesity: "Yes, it's clear." The number of parents bringing their children, some as young as five or six, for treatment has grown, he said, blaming lack of exercise, too much television and too many snacks of biscuits and croissants.

Child obesity is often a family concern, Dr Adamé said. Parents need to change their habits before the child can lose weight. "The first priority is to change the lifestyle, and if that fails, only then treat the condition with medicine." To change behaviour, he said, a carrot-and-stick approach was needed, with taxes playing the coercive part and public education as a soft element. Retailers need to look carefully at what foods they promote at the head of supermarket aisles, and food producers need to use less toxic fats and reduce salt.

The McDonald's restaurant chain in France will wait to see what measures the government will adopt, a spokesman said. "We are watching the situation closely," she said. McDonald's made ?3 billion (Dh17bn) in sales last year, a rise of 10 per cent from 2006. On average, the chain serves 1.5 million customers a day, with 70 per cent of its sales coming at lunch and dinner. The average purchase is ?9, McDonald's said, one of the highest for fast food meals. Customers visit a McDonald's outlet on average once a month.

Deep in the countryside, at the summer fair of the village of Vallières les Grandes in the Loire valley, food remains a passion. Jean-Marc Levieuge enthusiastically described how his home-produced charcuterie was made from pigs raised on cereal on the Hubardière farm. Some hungry walkers pushed in ahead of a group of cyclists to buy black pudding, terrines and saucisson. "We've had some exercise, so we can enjoy our food with a clear conscience," one woman said. Stéphane Rousselet, the charcuterie manager at the Hubardière farm, uses four grams less salt per kilogram than the average 18 grams to 20 grams. His saucisson is one-third fat compared with the half-fat, half-meat of other producers' sausage, he said.

The national study for nutrition and health shows 16.9 per cent of adults are obese and 32.4 per cent overweight. The national education department shows 14.1 per cent of children aged seven to nine are overweight, and four per cent are obese. There is a class difference. Health problems in better-off families are declining, while those of poorer households remain stable. Child obesity in France is still relatively low compared with other European countries.

Britain has one of the highest rates; one child in three is overweight or obese. The ministerial report will go to parliament in the coming weeks. The government is expected to decide in the autumn what action, if any, it will take. @Email:[e-mail]