The concept of a fat tax is a heavily debated topic around the world (given increasing levels of obesity and overweight) as a measure to be used by legislators to control the consumption of food items that are seen to cause obesity and overweight. The purpose of a fat tax can be likened to that of a sin tax (used to control consumption of products seen as vices to society). Little research has been carried out on fat tax in South Africa as the debate surrounding the levels of obesity has only been initiated on a national level in recent years. However, given the significant threat which high levels of obesity and overweight pose to South Africans (the fourth fattest nation in the world), the viability of any measure that would curb the consumption of unhealthy foods by South Africans should be investigated. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the introduction of a fat tax would affect consumer consumption habits by deterring consumers from purchasing unhealthy foods and in this way begin to lower the levels of obesity observed in the country. This study consists of a review of various literature in favour of, and against the implementation of sin and fat taxes, a detailed investigation into the effect of the levying of sin taxes by the South African Minister of Finance on tobacco and alcohol consumption and a survey researching the possible impact that an implemented fat tax would have on consumer consumption patterns in South Africa. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Taxation / MCom / Unrestricted

Die Etablierung eines gesunden Ernährungsverhaltens unserer Kinder ist die wichtigste Voraussetzung für ihre körperliche, kognitive und emotionale Entwicklung. Dabei sind neben einer genetischen Disposition und kulturellen Gegebenheiten vor allem die Einflüsse der jeweiligen Betreuungspersonen ausschlaggebend. Die Eltern steuern sowohl direkt (durch Aufforderungen, Verbote u.ä.) als auch indirekt (durch die Förderung eigenverantwortlicher Entscheidungen u.ä.) das Ernährungsverhalten ihres Kindes. Untersuchungen zum mütterlichen Steuerungsverhalten konzentrierten sich bisher vorwiegend auf die Betrachtung direkter Strategien sowie auf altershomogene und sozial besser gestellte Gruppen. Aufgrund möglicher Verzerrungen durch die Betrachtung einzelner Ausschnitte des Zusammenhangs zwischen Steuerung und Ernährung wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Gesamtmodell spezifiziert, welches den Zusammenhang zwischen elterlicher Steuerung und kindlicher Ernährung unter Berücksichtigung von Sozial- und Gewichtsfaktoren abbildet. Dazu wurden drei Erhebungen mit insgesamt über 900 Müttern 1 – 10-jähriger Kinder durchgeführt. Innerhalb dieser Untersuchungen ist es gelungen, erstmalig ein deutschsprachiges Instrument zur Messung elterlicher Steuerungsstrategien in der Essenssituation (ISS) zu entwickeln. Die Analysen zeigten, dass bisher nur selten untersuchte Strategien, wie das explizite Bemühen um Vorbildwirkung und das Erlauben von eigenverantwortlichen Entscheidungen des Kindes, von den Müttern häufig angewandt werden. Die Analyse des komplexen Wirkungsgefüge von Steuerung, kindlicher Ernährung sowie sozialer und gewichtsbezogener Faktoren zeigte weiterhin, dass neben stabilen Faktoren, wie dem mütterlichen Status und dem Alter des Kindes, ein entscheidender Anteil der mütterlichen Steuerungsstrategien für die kindliche Ernährung verantwortlich ist. Die berichteten Ergebnisse zeigen auf, wie relevant die gemeinsame Betrachtung von gesunden und problematischen Nahrungsmitteln sowie die den Zusammenhang zwischen Steuerung und Ernährung beeinflussenden Faktoren innerhalb eines Modells ist. Zusammengefasst scheint vor allem die Steuerung durch Belohnung von und mit bestimmten Nahrungsmitteln eine für das kindliche Ernährungsverhalten und das Übergewichtsrisiko besonders kritische Strategie zu sein. Dies ist umso bedeutender, als bisherige Untersuchungen dieses Verhalten häufig in restriktive Strategien integriert betrachteten. Die separate Analyse wies jedoch darauf hin, dass vor allem die belohnenden Verhaltensanteile relevant sind. Dies zeigt, dass es für die Entwicklung einer gesunden kindlichen Ernährung tatsächlich veränderbare Verhaltensweisen gibt, die Eltern in Präventionsprogrammen oder anderen mit Kursen zum kindlichen Wohl assoziierten Einrichtungen vermittelt werden können. / The establishment of healthy eating for our children is an important precondition for their physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Besides genetic and cultural effects that influence children’s food preferences and eating behavior, parents play a pivotal role. Both direct (e.g., demands and restrictions) and indirect strategies (e.g., modeling and monitoring) are used to influence the child’s eating. Previous research about maternal feeding strategies has concentrated mostly on either direct feeding strategies or age-homogenous samples with high social status. To avoid bias by ignoring interdependencies I have explored the association of maternal feeding strategies and the child’s food intake in a complex model, which includes socio-demographic and weight aspects. I undertook three investigations with a total of over 900 mothers of 1- to 10-year-old children. I achieved to develop a German instrument for measuring the parental feeding strategies (ISS). Further analyses showed that rarely examined strategies, such as an explicit modeling or allowing the child to control his food, were often used. We examined a multi-factorial model of the relationship between maternal feeding practices and child’s food intake, taking into account the influences of age, socioeconomic and weight factors. This underlines the relevance of some feeding strategies (namely rewarding and modeling) besides the influence of the child’s age and the mother’s social status. The described results demonstrate the need for considering a model including healthy and unhealthy foods as well as demographic, age and weight variables, to detect relevant strategies in the complex association between parental feeding and child’s food intake. Rewarding turned out to be a critical feeding strategy for the child’s unhealthy food intake and obesity risk, whereas modeling seems to have a protective effect. This is important given that previous research mostly considers this behavior as part of restrictive strategies. The separate analysis shows that the rewarding behavior is especially relevant for the child’s eating. In summary, the results point out the existence of modifiable behavior for the development of healthy eating in a child, which could be conveyed to parents during prevention programs and other facilities.

The diploma thesis deals with the attitude of students to a healthy diet with the possibility of their own free choice. It represents possible justified risks arising from insufficiently timely information. Most mental and health threats occur in old school age. For this reason, my part is focused on the younger school age, where it is necessary to apply primary prevention against these threats. The aim of my diploma thesis is to provide information about the level of students' knowledge of healthy eating, taking into account the biological, psychological and social aspects by which they are affected. I carried out the research at the 1st stage of a Prague primary school. Quantitative questionnaire surveys, consisting of closed and open questions, were used as research methods. The results provide a comprehensive picture of students' attitudes and levels of awareness of healthy eating with regard to their own eating habits before the end of primary school and before transfer to secondary school or leaving for multi-year grammar schools. The research revealed an opportunity to influence these views at a time when they are being formed and strengthened at a younger school age by a separate school subject. This gives pupils the opportunity to increase, expand and organize the information provided by...