Taxes on soft drinks to lower obesity rates

Mexico’s Ministry of Health proposes to impose taxes on soft drinks in order to lower obesity rates in the country (see full article here). Such a policy should be based in the understanding of the food price–weight gain connection. Dana Goldman, Darius Lakdawalla and Yuhuy Zheng explain in this article that their study shows very modest effects of price per calorie in the body mass index in the short run; while the long-term effects (after a considerable period) are greater. Although in the long run the Mexican policy is correct, it will not help lower obesity rates in two years, as expected by the Ministry of Health.