Food fiscal policies: A literature review

Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic during the last decades, undermining the health and well-being of people in developing as well as developed countries. Governments have tried to combat this epidemic spreading through fiscal food policies. The aim of the present literature review is to provide a better understanding of the way these policies work and are implemented and to explore their effects on consumers’ dietary behaviour and weight status. Literature is ambiguous regarding the ability of fiscal food policies to cause long-term changes in consumers’ eating behaviour and consequently weight status. In contrast, there seems to be unanimity about the fact that the simultaneous taxing of unhealthy products and subsidizing of healthy products provide the greatest positive outcomes on fighting obesity.