'Fat tax' would put an unfair burden on the poor' (From Witney Gazette)

"Mr Treadwell, 47, said most severely overweight people had tried ‘every diet under the sun’ to lose weight and many were born into big families." I also see he drank a vast amount and ate a "relatively healthy" diet. Relative to what?

Diets work if you stick to them, but the minute you stop the weight comes back. Everyone KNOWS the answer is eat less, move more, yet idiots like Treadwell refuse to take personal accountability for their self-made illnesses. If he has lost so much weight without a gastric band, why should tax-payers pay for it!?!
I know there is a psychological element to obesity; I comfort eat and have also been anorexic. However, to simply state the new tax on unhealthy food is rubbish because it penalises unhealthy eaters is rubbish. It will allow us to buy healthy foods for less, and surely that can only be a good thing!!

I see this parasitic slob was so poor that be was 'forced' to drink 12 pints a night. Must be awful trying to live on benefit!

i agree with sophia and feelingsmatter he's managed to loose weight so odviously theres a diet that works it is amazing how many obese people say diets dont work yet when they are told to loose lots of weight so they can get a gastric band bipass then off it comes no problem!!
can anyone explain why gastric bands are available on the nhs?

benifits are not as little as they make out since you would get your rent, council tax, precriptions, glasses, dental treatment plus money to live off. and if you have children there school meals, school trips, £50 worth of school uniform per child, fruit and veg vouchers plus money for them.
it really gets my goat as we are not rich and have to budget everything yet there is a single mum in my daughters class forever boasting about going out every weekend having her nails done, smokes and wears designer clothes yet when a recent day trip came up that cost under £5 that wasn't free for people on income support she complained and then refused to pay.

“But for people on benefits, such as myself, it’s difficult enough to buy food as it is. It is much cheaper to eat unhealthy food. I know these studies are done for a reason, but I’m not sure this is the answer.”.......
........what a complete load of tosh!
I have about £100 a week coming in, I run a car, smoke, owe nobody a penny, eat healthily, am 5'8'' tall, and weigh about 11.5 stone.
The reason a large percentage of people eat junk, is because they waste too much money on things that aren't necessary, and get into debt as a result.
I buy what I need, and save for what I want, and I've never bought a "value" product in my life.

surely the point of this tax is yo discourage purchase and consumption of unhealthy foods.also is necessary to pay so much benefits that not intended for alcoholic consumption, they must be grossly overpaid benefits or essentials are being skimped on or bills are not being paid, definately grounds for a DWP check to see if there are claim irregularities, remember most workers can only dream of that level of consumption, proven by the amount of pubs closing.Mobility car ?, perhaps that allowance should be replaced by Gym membership, this would not only steer people onto a healthy outlook, but would also save the country massive amounts in the future, a win win situation for all, give a fat person a car, they drive everywhere, give them gym membership, they could have a new life.

I recall that Cyril Smith wasn't a passenger you'd want in a bubble car but he held down a job, as do many people like him. Don't live on welfare, get a job, and you can eat what you like. Welfare is a cancer, like the European Union, and no one knows it till blood starts coming out of places where you didn't expect it to come from.

Oh dear. In the 70s when I was at school, the concept of a man like this getting away with his behavior was unheard of. The working class lived dignified lives. We were bought up with images of starving children in Ethiopia and very very few in the UK were fat, in fact at my school, out of 310 pupils, one was slightly overweight. Over the last 15 years, since the advent of the victim mentality celebrity culture, people care little for others and blame others for their own choices. And to state that healthy food costs MORE than unhealthy is a lie. a) A McDonald's meal costs the very same as a healthy burrito, mixed salad or other wholesome snack. b) A bag of fresh fruit and veg from your local farmer's market (or in the case of Oxford, the covered market) will cost under a fiver and last a few days. Congrats oh powers that be for creating a social underclass who do not know the meaning of genuine suffering and poverty. Bring that 20% tax on and while you're at it, introduce a system at hospitals to give the elderly and soldiers priority treatment over people who suffer from self inflicted problems.

Now that this man has given up drinking twelve pints of lager a night, he should have plenty of spare money to spend on healthy food. I can't understand the logic of his comments.

Not that healthy food has to be expensive, and if you can't grow your own fruit & veg, it is very reasonable at the Wednesday market at Gloucester Green.

Bet he doesn't treadwell!

Fruit and Veg were too expensive yet spending £600+ a month on lager was justified? When will people take control of thier own lives and stop demanding that 'nanny' fixes it for them? Stick them all ina leaky boat.

Sorry Michael, you won't get much sympathy from anyone.

Fact is, you chose to stuff your face and drink too much lager, and now we have to pay for your treatment.

A tax on fatty food and soft drinks is very unfair - as I also buy these items, but I'm a keen sportsman and I won't eat more than I should, and if I put on a bit of weight I have the get up and go to sort myself out.

I hope you lose the weight and sort your life out, for good.

"tried every diet under the sun". I love this statement. Diets are fickle things. You eat healthy food in moderation and your weight will fall as long as you're active. Losing weight is a doddle. It's a simple maths equation... burn more energy than you take on board.

It is that simple. It has to be a lifestyle change for it to work. If you're going to laze around and do nothing all day but drink 12 pints of lager, oddly enough almost anyone on that diet will get larger.

I don't however, agree with the taxing of unhealthy foods. The governments job is to run the country and introduce legislation that protects the public from wrongs. It is not to legislate on what food I should or shouldn't eat. This is another move towards the nanny state. With a full nanny state you will end up with many people taking absolutely no responsibility for their own actions. Mr Treadwell here is taking no responsibilily for his over eating and heavy drinking and is now complaining because some proposed legislation is going to affect his eating habits.

His health issues are all very likely to be weight related. I have little sympathy for Mr Treadwell on this subject, much as I disagree with the 20% tax. Who decides what is good for you? Anything is good for you in moderation? Who draws the line? What if I disagree with what is healthy? How do I effect a change?

"It is much cheaper to eat unhealthy food."

It is even cheaper to eat less of it!

Unhealthy food, per se, doesn't lead to obesity. Too much unhealthy food leads to obesity. But so does too much healthy food.

Eat no more calories of healthy or unhealthy food than the body needs and obesity isn't going to develop.

The sooner people understand this very simple concept the better. Mr. Treadwell clearly doesn't.

The sign of a dead, uncaring Tory government. Let's tax the poor again to squeeze every last penny out of them. How about and extra 20% tax on Fillet Steak, all Organic meats, Wild Salmon, and Cured Spanish and Italian Hams. At least the people paying the extra can afford it. And when Tesco Value fatty mince becomes the same price as the normal mince, does all the value mince get thrown away as none of it will be sold, or does the value mine just become the normal mince, invalidating the whole idea anyway. You lot need to get a brain, and stop insulting others that you know nothing about.

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:
The sign of a dead, uncaring Tory government. Let's tax the poor again to squeeze every last penny out of them. How about and extra 20% tax on Fillet Steak, all Organic meats, Wild Salmon, and Cured Spanish and Italian Hams. At least the people paying the extra can afford it. And when Tesco Value fatty mince becomes the same price as the normal mince, does all the value mince get thrown away as none of it will be sold, or does the value mine just become the normal mince, invalidating the whole idea anyway. You lot need to get a brain, and stop insulting others that you know nothing about.

I'm not with you on this one Peter.
Why put extra tax on food that is healthy?
I live on benefits and eat a healthy diet, and am by no means overweight, there's no reason for people to live on diets consisting mainly of fatty foods.
Adding additional tax to unhealthy foods can only be a good thing, issuing benefits claimants with alcohol ration cards would also be a good idea.
I've seen so many TV programmes featuring "poor" people claiming they can't afford to live, but they're sitting there with games consoles, large screen LCD TVs, Sky boxes, and wearing designer clothes.

Solution: Increase the price on alcohol so less drinking- fat tax on junk food so less eating - increase transport cost so more walking and increase the unemployed bums for more benefits....

I say stop giving cash for booze and bingo and give food vouchers for certain shops so that they have no choice but to use them there and if they wish to smoke and drink then find it from somewhere else.

Oflife wrote:
Oh dear. In the 70s when I was at school, the concept of a man like this getting away with his behavior was unheard of. The working class lived dignified lives. We were bought up with images of starving children in Ethiopia and very very few in the UK were fat, in fact at my school, out of 310 pupils, one was slightly overweight. Over the last 15 years, since the advent of the victim mentality celebrity culture, people care little for others and blame others for their own choices. And to state that healthy food costs MORE than unhealthy is a lie. a) A McDonald's meal costs the very same as a healthy burrito, mixed salad or other wholesome snack. b) A bag of fresh fruit and veg from your local farmer's market (or in the case of Oxford, the covered market) will cost under a fiver and last a few days. Congrats oh powers that be for creating a social underclass who do not know the meaning of genuine suffering and poverty. Bring that 20% tax on and while you're at it, introduce a system at hospitals to give the elderly and soldiers priority treatment over people who suffer from self inflicted problems.

theres a difference between absolute poverty and poverty. Just because our "poverty" gets clean water and electricity dosn't mean they arn't suffering. I assume you don't have experience of having to rely on benifits. At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) soct £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.
And not everyone chooses to be on benifits by the way, for some it's humiliating, degrading and a last resort. Benifits don't give people nearly enough money to live in comfort. When you add up the heating cost, the water cost, the hot water cost, the electricity, the rent and then your left with some cash to spend on children's chlothes, equipment ect is there really enough leway to choose between tesco's finest meals or the value pack?
Surely lowering the tax on organic foods would be more benificial and maybe increasing councelling and career advice centres budgets? The higher you make things cost, the worse the lower classes lives will get.
And NHS is a NATIONAL health service, why would it discriminate classes as you've suggested?

"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

I guess you're right, it's such a struggle on benefits, I should know, I run a 9 year old car, that I bought 6 years ago, am in credit with all the utility companies, and my rent, am solvent, and eat healthily.....

"The sign of a dead, uncaring Tory government" Whatever this lot are they're not Conservatives. The Oxfordshire Air Ambulance is voluntarily funded, yet this government wills it that the NHS pays for IVF for "gays" (a bit of advice about the birds and the bees might come in handier). One day Dave will reveal his true ambition-to be the heir to Screaming Lord Sutch.

"The sign of a dead, uncaring Tory government" Whatever this lot are they're not Conservatives. The Oxfordshire Air Ambulance is voluntarily funded, yet this government wills it that the NHS pays for IVF for "gays" (a bit of advice about the birds and the bees might come in handier). One day Dave will reveal his true ambition-to be the heir to Screaming Lord Sutch.

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

I guess you're right, it's such a struggle on benefits, I should know, I run a 9 year old car, that I bought 6 years ago, am in credit with all the utility companies, and my rent, am solvent, and eat healthily.....

Dilly, 'my friend' you are a credit to society in the way you manage your benefits. Tell me, as I have never claimed such money, is it paid weekly, monthly and do they pay it into your bank account like, say, someone who works?

A34North wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

I guess you're right, it's such a struggle on benefits, I should know, I run a 9 year old car, that I bought 6 years ago, am in credit with all the utility companies, and my rent, am solvent, and eat healthily.....

Dilly, 'my friend' you are a credit to society in the way you manage your benefits. Tell me, as I have never claimed such money, is it paid weekly, monthly and do they pay it into your bank account like, say, someone who works?

I only live on benefits because at present I'm unable to work.
Until I had a breakdown 8 years ago, I'd never had a day out of work in 22 years, and in the 10 years leading up to my breakdown paid £100,000 in Tax & N.I. alone.
I vowed never to live on benefits, hated the idea, didn't believe in getting something for nothing, was a workaholic.
I'm not a scrounger, or a shirker, if that's what you're implying, and believe me, the day I feel that I'm in the right frame of mind to return to work, I'll be out of my door like a ferret down a rabbit hole.
Actually benefits are paid fortnightly into my bank account, and I'm thankful that I get what I do, but it's certainly different to the monthly income of £3,000 a month after deductions, that I was used to.
So although I hate the fact that I'm currently living on benefits, I think I've paid enough into the treasury over the years to cover most, if not all, of what I'm receiving.
Oh, and stop referring to me as your friend, or I'll sue for defamation of character.

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

A34North wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

I guess you're right, it's such a struggle on benefits, I should know, I run a 9 year old car, that I bought 6 years ago, am in credit with all the utility companies, and my rent, am solvent, and eat healthily.....

Dilly, 'my friend' you are a credit to society in the way you manage your benefits. Tell me, as I have never claimed such money, is it paid weekly, monthly and do they pay it into your bank account like, say, someone who works?

I only live on benefits because at present I'm unable to work.
Until I had a breakdown 8 years ago, I'd never had a day out of work in 22 years, and in the 10 years leading up to my breakdown paid £100,000 in Tax & N.I. alone.
I vowed never to live on benefits, hated the idea, didn't believe in getting something for nothing, was a workaholic.
I'm not a scrounger, or a shirker, if that's what you're implying, and believe me, the day I feel that I'm in the right frame of mind to return to work, I'll be out of my door like a ferret down a rabbit hole.
Actually benefits are paid fortnightly into my bank account, and I'm thankful that I get what I do, but it's certainly different to the monthly income of £3,000 a month after deductions, that I was used to.
So although I hate the fact that I'm currently living on benefits, I think I've paid enough into the treasury over the years to cover most, if not all, of what I'm receiving.
Oh, and stop referring to me as your friend, or I'll sue for defamation of character.

Dilly 'my friend for you are not my enemy' there was no need to give me a potted history regarding your life. You do seem a rather intelligent person so I would like to ask you your opinion of the dependency culture that seems rife at present? Oh by the way, Trenton is in court today.

A34North wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

A34North wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
"At college, chips cost 80p whilst a cheese sandwich (just cheese and butter) cost £1.80. The salad sandwiches go up to £2.50. Looking at this it's not hard to see how its easier to eat the processed, fatty food over the expensive organic food.".......
........Urm, no!
Make sandwiches, a pasta salad, a plain salad, or any number of things at home, and take them to college, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

It is easy to be hard on the illeducated, but you must understand that their life IS Plasmas, X-Boxes, Booze and Fags. There is no point pushing them in the direction of healthy food as it is too expensive, and the only way they know how to cook it would defeat the object anyway. Jamie tried it "oop norf" and failed. Best we just leave it.

I guess you're right, it's such a struggle on benefits, I should know, I run a 9 year old car, that I bought 6 years ago, am in credit with all the utility companies, and my rent, am solvent, and eat healthily.....

Dilly, 'my friend' you are a credit to society in the way you manage your benefits. Tell me, as I have never claimed such money, is it paid weekly, monthly and do they pay it into your bank account like, say, someone who works?

I only live on benefits because at present I'm unable to work.
Until I had a breakdown 8 years ago, I'd never had a day out of work in 22 years, and in the 10 years leading up to my breakdown paid £100,000 in Tax & N.I. alone.
I vowed never to live on benefits, hated the idea, didn't believe in getting something for nothing, was a workaholic.
I'm not a scrounger, or a shirker, if that's what you're implying, and believe me, the day I feel that I'm in the right frame of mind to return to work, I'll be out of my door like a ferret down a rabbit hole.
Actually benefits are paid fortnightly into my bank account, and I'm thankful that I get what I do, but it's certainly different to the monthly income of £3,000 a month after deductions, that I was used to.
So although I hate the fact that I'm currently living on benefits, I think I've paid enough into the treasury over the years to cover most, if not all, of what I'm receiving.
Oh, and stop referring to me as your friend, or I'll sue for defamation of character.

Dilly 'my friend for you are not my enemy' there was no need to give me a potted history regarding your life. You do seem a rather intelligent person so I would like to ask you your opinion of the dependency culture that seems rife at present? Oh by the way, Trenton is in court today.

Please don't start me on benefit scroungers, individuals that do everything they can to get more benefits, live life on credit, have all the latest fashions & gadgets, drink & smoke,yet still complain they're not getting enough.......
......I'd have them all taken outside and shot!