- Title
- Tax policy and the obesity epidemic: a systematic review
- Creator
- Mavuma, Onele
- Subject
- Obesity
- Subject
- Metabolism -- Disorders
- Subject
- Taxation -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2025-04
- Date
- 2025-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/72982
- Identifier
- vital:79302
- Description
- Obesity is a serious public health concern that has substantial social, health, and economic consequences for individuals of all ages and genders. Globally, the prevalence of obesity has tripled since the 1980s, and it is predicted to continue to climb yearly in the years to come. Despite the implementation of numerous tax laws around the world to curb the epidemic, its prevalence is still rising dramatically. This study investigated the causes and influences of the obesity epidemic, as well as how tax policies contribute to the fight against obesity epidemic in both developed and developing countries. A systematic review that conforms to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to guarantee that the study's findings are transparent and reproducible by other researchers is employed in this study. This method followed a qualitative research approach, narrative synthesis method, and thematic analysis to analyse the study data. The study found that in developed and developing countries tax policies have a significant impact on altering the demand for unhealthy foods and drinks. In addition, there are a number of factors that contribute to obesity epidemic, including genetics, an environment that promotes obesity, nutrition, physical activity, greater reliance on technology, peer pressure, social networks, cultural norms and beliefs, mass media that promote junk food, lack of health education, and socioeconomic status. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, subsidies, or a mix of the two have been shown to be successful in combating the epidemic. In contrast, the South African sugar tax system and the fat tax have been shown to be ineffective tools to fight the epidemic. This study suggests that policymakers need to understand citizens' eating behaviours through behavioural lenses, devise behaviour-informed policies, and utilise nudges to induce healthy behaviours.
- Description
- Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2025
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (135 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School for Economics, Development and Tourism
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MAVUMA, O.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |