Americans are overweight. 27.2% of us are considered obese, and this percentage is increasing a little more every year. This trend doesn't just affect obese people, it affects us all. It touches each of us in a place that is dearest to many of us; our wallets. We all pay to subsidize additional medical costs by paying higher insurance premiums. What if we could change that? What if, by simply raising the price of certain foods, we could: save lives by reducing obesity rates, lower health care costs, and create more community recreation centers? You can. By imposing a tax on all servings of unhealthy foods, America would be able to reduce its obesity rate, thereby reducing insurance premiums, and could use these funds to build community centers and health centers. activities. Although I think we should tax all unhealthy foods, to keep things simple, let's just consider taxing one of America's favorite foods; fries. On average, each American consumes twenty-nine pounds of French fries each year. With approximately three hundred and sixteen million Americans, that's a lot of fries! What if we put a tax on fries, which would make them more expensive? Instead of fries at the regular price of ninety-nine cents, they cost three dollars a serving. They would no longer be considered a must-have or must-have to accompany a burger. They would become what the most expensive food becomes, a treat or luxury for most. Yes, there will always be those who can afford fries for three dollars per serving for every meal if they want. However, for most Americans, the increase in price would be prohibitive. Now that fries are classified as a luxury product, what happens? Americans are stopping eating so much of it. The...... middle of paper ......equipment. Because of these community additions, there has been an increase in population, allowing your state to have the funds to properly maintain roads and build more, as well as many other improvements. All of this was made possible by taxing an unhealthy food. Isn't this the America you want to live in? Works Cited “Obesity”. Complications. Np, and Web. March 25, 2014. Ungar, Rick. “Obesity now costs Americans more in health care costs than smoking.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 30, 2012. Web. March 27, 2014. “U.S. Obesity Rate Rises in 2013.” Obesity rate increasing in the United States in 2013. Np, nd Web. March 25, 2014. “USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.” Quick facts about the United States from the US Census Bureau. Np, and Web. March 26, 2014. “What do we eat? What the average American consumes in a year (Image). » MindBodyGreen. Np, and Web. March 27. 2014.