Calls for tax on fatty foods

Medical researchers in the UK have called for a junk food tax to reduce obesity.That has been welcomed by some here, while others say it smacks of the 'nanny state'.

Medical researchers in the UK have called for a junk food tax to reduce obesity, and experts here say it should be implemented in Australia.

Countries such as Hungary and Denmark implemented 'fat taxes' on unhealthy foods last year, with Denmark taxing not only junk food, but also butter, milk, cream, meats and cooking oil -- everything containing 2.3 per cent or more of saturated fats.

Hungary taxes food manufacturers for foods bearing fat, sugar and salt over a certain level.

In Australia, some critics of the tax say it's a 'nanny state' policy. Gareth Boreham has more.