The Why Files Blog
Food: It’s the price, stupid!
A review of research published between 1990 and 2008 shows that price matters. If vegies are cheaper, and junk food is more expensive, people will not get so fat. Two authors from the University of Illinois concluded: “This review provides evidence about the potential effectiveness of using food pricing policies to affect weight outcomes, including the potential impact of excise and other taxes on less healthy products and of subsidies for more healthy products.”
And now for the bad news: Shaving a couple of cents from the price of a carrot is not going to do the job. What will it take? “Nontrivial pricing interventions…”
More.
Read about another way to control your weight in the upcoming Why Files book!
Tags: Food, food price, market intervention, Obesity
