Investigation of opinions towards obesity tax in a family health center in Ankara

Nowadays solutions are sought for obesity, which is spreading rapidly and has become a more serious problem over time. Besides personal solution searches government interventions also aim to reduce obesity rates. Obesity tax is one of these solutions and the main aim is to reduce the consumption of foods with high calories but low nutritional value by increasing the price. Obesity tax is applied in different ways in many countries and its implementation in Turkey is a topic that has been discussed recently. In the present thesis, first of all, the definition of obesity, its causes and prevalence are given, then the data and policies of countries taxing unhealthy foods are included and obesity tax is evaluated with previous researches. The aim of this study is to evaluate the opinions for the implementation of the obesity tax in Turkey. The study includes patients aged 18 and over who applied to a family health center selected in Ankara. The questionnaire prepared by Ayyıldız and Demirli (2015) was used as a measurement tool and the obtained data were analyzed by the SPSS program. The construct validity of the measurement tool used in the research was evaluated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. T-test and ANOVA test as well as logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the hypotheses. As a result of the research, opinions of the participants on obesity and obesity tax were evaluated. It has been concluded that gender has an effect on the participants' support for the obesity tax, and it has been observed that the support for the obesity tax is higher in women. The majority of the participants do not support the obesity tax, but it was seen that they support the anti obesity policies other than tax. Keywords: Obesity, Obesity Tax, Anti-obesity policies