It’s a good time to be a cardiologist. Sure, insurance companies are driving doctors out of business with outrageous medical malpractice insurance premiums, but at least there will never be a shortage of patients. In a country where we strive to be No. 1, we can be proud of the fact that, once again, we’re the fattest nation in the world.

Obesity is a growing concern and has the potential to cripple America. A recent study done by the Center for Disease Control estimates that obesity-related medical costs totaled more than $75 billion in 2003. Taxpayers pay a little more than half the bill – $39 billion – which is larger than the entire budget for the Homeland Security Department. Expenses are only expected to rise, and there are lots of other economic factors such as time off for medical appointments that are not included in this study.

The idea of a “fat tax” was suggested by a British lawmaker last year in England. The idea generated heated debates, and after a while the idea flamed out.

In a time, however, where obesity has become a national epidemic in the U.S., the idea actually seems very reasonable as an aid to combat the problem.

This is obviously a sensitive issue for many Americans, and even the most levelheaded people will let their feelings interfere with rationality. If we the taxpayers have to pay for medical bills for health issues that can be prevented, why shouldn’t we be compensated?

The fair solution would be to tax people who are obese, with the exception of those who suffer from hypothyroidism. They would pay a fee because they’re a burden on taxpayers.

While taxing only obese people would be the fairest thing possible, it’ll be extremely inefficient and difficult to track obese people down and tax them.

We should start taxing extremely unhealthy food because it will help our country in the long run. A change in diet could prevent more than 75 percent of the heart disease cases in America, yet the demand for cardiologists is the highest in years because people won’t change their dietary habits. Barely 25 percent of all Americans get their recommended daily intake of vegetables every day.

It’s not unfair to tax unhealthy food for the same reason it’s alright to have taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and gas- guzzling cars. All of these products financially hurt society, so the people who continue to buy these products have to pay an extra cost to ease the burden.

I don’t think once we start taxing people, they’ll suddenly stop eating unhealthy foods and start buying carrots every day. People will, however, be more inclined to reduce their daily intake of junk food, and that will make a huge impact on their overall well being. Reducing your calorie intake by 200 calories every day, roughly the amount in a Kit-Kat-bar, will save several pounds over one year.

This proposal may seem unfair and induce complaints from people who don’t want to pay another tax. Although they may have to pay more taxes up front, the benefits they’ll be able to keep will more than outweigh the initial costs. Employers like General Motors and Caterpillar have cut back on employee benefits because of increased health care costs. Companies could free themselves from the burden of obesity-related costs and workers would be able to retain some of their pension benefits.

Obesity has grown to epidemic proportions but we’ve tried to ignore the issue because of its sensitive nature. For too long we’ve told ourselves that we need to love ourselves for who we are and we need to accept our bodies for instance. I’m all for self-confidence, but we have to put aside our pride and face the issue because it’s no longer about self-image.

We’ve had huge ad campaigns in order to reduce smoking in America. The government spends a fraction of the amount given to anti-smoking ads to promote healthy lifestyles even though less than 25 percent of Americans smoke while more than 65 percent of us are overweight. If we fail to toughen our stance and don’t tackle this problem with an aggressive solution, it will slowly incapacitate our country.

Vijay Ramanavarapu is a junior in finance. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].