The American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons (ASBPS) this week proposed a tax on fatty foods in order to decrease the incidence of obesity.

“We cannot regulate what people eat. Maybe by taxing only those foods served with high saturated fat could we discourage consumers from buying them and encourage the restaurants to provide more healthy choices”, says Edward Domanskis, MD, the President of the ASBPS. “The money generated by this fat tax could be directed to research into causes and cures for obesity."

Domanskis then characterized the tax proposal as "self-serving, for if obesity continues to increase at its present rate, our plastic surgeon members will be inundated with bariatric patients seeking plastic surgeons, which we will not be able to accommodate."

[Source: American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons]